Reaping Day Promises: The 150th Hunger Games
by Saltey
Summary: "Why do we have a winner? Hope." – President Snow. Many promises are made on reaping day but only one will be kept. The 150th Hunger Games are here and it's time for another Quarter Quell bringing with it another twist to the game. *Completed*
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: The Hunger Games and the first half of the quarter quell speech belong to Suzanne Collins, everything else belongs to me.**

**This was a submitting story but it was deleted, I've made some small changes to it but kept the original characters.**

* * *

**President Rosa Snow's POV:**

I stand on the stage, before me the cheers and shouts of the capitol deafen me but with a simple wave of my hand I demand silence.

"Welcome to the reading of the card for the 150th Hunger Games. It is a great honour and also a great shock to be announcing this year's games after the untimely death of my father five months ago. I know he would have loved to be here with us on this great day."

The crowd clap respectfully and I hold my head high, allowing a single tear to force its way down my face in respect for my dead father.

"On the twenty-fifth anniversary" I begin, the same speech is given every twenty five years with the previous quarter quell added to the speech and the next one announced at the end. "as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it.

"On the fiftieth anniversary as a reminder that two rebels dies for each capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes.

"On the seventy fifth anniversary as a reminder to the rebels that even the strangest among them cannot overcome the power of the capitol, the male and female tributes of every district were reaped from the pool of existing victors"

The crowd gasp at the memory; although not many of them would have been alive then, we all still remember the stunt Katniss Everdeen pulled with the force field causing it to break down so the remaining tributes could escape the arena causing a second rebellion. It was stopped though and Everdeen and her fellow remaining victors were all rounded up and executed as a show of our power. I allow the crowd to calm down as I continue.

"On the hundredth anniversary as a reminder to the rebels that their second rebellion was as fruitless as the first a second games was held immediately after the first had concluded.

"On the hundred and twenty fifth anniversary as a reminder to the rebels that the capitol can be fair and just as well as cruel, each child of reaping age had their name entered into the ball only once regardless of age or tessrae."

The crowd hold their breath as I step towards the box holding the cards, of course I already know what it says we picked it out of the possible options months ago.

"On this the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary as a reminder to the rebels that they pitted family against family in their failed rebellions, each district shall have their tributes pulled from the family of existing victors."

The crowd cheer again as I take a bow and the anthem begins.

* * *

**Tribute list:**

District 1:

Boy: Aries Dartrush - 16 (Father won 132nd games) (TeamPeetabread)

Girl: Phoenix Starr – 17 (Auntie won 143rd games) (Jaide00)

District 2:

Boy: Adrian Petronius – 18 (Father won 114th games) (The Head Gamemaker)

Girl: Ursa Petronius – 16 (Father won 114th games) (The Head Gamemaker)

District 3:

Boy: Chip Jobs- 13 (Mother won 125th games) (mine)

Girl: Linnie Graphin – 16 (Uncle won 128th games) (charmchaser)

District 4:

Boy: Gunnar Reef – 18 (Mother won 129th games) (Munamana)

Girl: Miriam "Mystic" Blackthorne – 16 (Grandfather won 90th games) (Rikachan101 )

District 5:

Boy: Danny Allardyce – 15 (Aunt won 127th games) (1DirectionIsMyHusbandsBitches)

Girl: Shadow Daniels – 15 (Father won 134th games) (XIIIXV)

District 6:

Boy: Tiberius Ford - 16 (Grandmother won 84th games) (mine)

Girl: Libya Mason – 18 (Grandmother won 84th games) (Funny-Bunny-lover)

District 7:

Boy: Euan Hawthorne – 15 (Grandfather won the second 100th games) (mine)

Girl: Ayla Bane – 16 (Uncle won 138th games) (natural disaster)

District 8:

Boy: Fuller Manchester – 16 (Mother won 120th games) (mine)

Girl: Sisal Mallott – 12 (Brother won 149th games) (XIIXV)

District 9:

Boy: Gadish Blackwood – 17 (Sister won 145th games) (mine)

Girl: Allyson Mala – 18 (Mother won 130th games) (primrose .hg)

District 10:

Boy: Virgil Irving - 17 (Grandmother won 77th games) (Sir Gnome the Giant)

Girl: Tiffany Royce – 18 (Aunt won 131st Games) (Krigoo)

District 11:

Boy: Cane Wilks – 18 (Cousin won 144th games) (Munamana)

Girl: Raine Dash – 17 (Sister won 147th games) (moustaches)

District 12:

Boy: Jay Hawthorne – 14 (Grandmother won 76th games) (mine)

Girl: Felis Myro – 15 (Grandfather won 91st games) (Snow Windows)

* * *

**First things first in response to The Head Gamemakers question I thought I'd give you a quick history of Panem since the second rebellion failed:**

After the rebellion those districts with major roles were given harsher punishments than the others, some like seven fought back and came out stronger, they now have the same number of victors as four. Twelve was pushed further into poverty, its peacekeeper force tripled. In four there was also harsher peacekeeper presence, but they have mostly remained strong. Eleven remained poor but less strict, there has recently been a resurgence in victors, they may be on their way to becoming a much richer district. The capitol is still decadent and ridiculous, people have been inserting fur and whiskers into their skin as the latest trend, creating some citizens who look more animal than human (Tigris was just too far ahead obviously).


	2. Reapings one

**District 1 reapings Aries Dartrush:**

The sound of the metal of my sword ringing against the training dummy is music to my ears. Heart, liver, lungs, I forced my sword into the key areas of the dummy, killing it over and over again.

"Aries" the call from the doorway brings my attention back to the real world, Dad stands their hands behind his back.

"What do you think?" I ask him whipping the sweat from my brow.

He nods and begins to walk towards me, "your techniques good, I just wish I had another year or two to train you up"

I shrug "I may not get it today, there's a couple of us vying for the quell place"

Dad smiles and puts his hands on my shoulders "yes but only one of them is my son, a victor"

I grin as dad grabs the sword from my hand with one hand and shoves me to the floor with the other whipping the smile from my face.

"Now you're dead" he tells me hovering the sword above my face and laughing loudly, "go get a weapon"

I scramble up from the floor and run over to the swords we store in the training area, I grab my second favourite as dad now holds my favourite, as I swing round he has predictably moved to behind me. The sword hovers by my neck, with two quick movements I move out of its way.

We spar for a while and although he keeps the upper hand, I hold my own, it'll be easier in the arena I think, fighting barely trained tributes from the outer districts, I'm assured a win.

Eventually dad steps back and holds up his hands, "I yield" he sighs and I grin and poke his belly with the tip of my sword, "there's no yielding in the games" I repeat the words he's told me time and time again and he grins.

"I've changed my mind" he says "You don't need two more years, you Aries Dartrush are ready for the games"

The day of the reaping is a joyous one as usual, there are a good number of kids in the reaping still, I make a quick count of over thirty relatives of the eleven victors stood on the stage, the years may pass but district one remains strong.

I line myself up next to my an old buddy from training, Lance's cousin won the games a few years back and I know he's as ready as I am to volunteer.

"May the best man win" he says tapping me on the shoulder

"Don't worry, I plan on it" I reply.

The escort a short man in a yellow wig stands on the stage, he steps towards the boys bowl first.

"Hercules Jameson" he announces, I don't know or care who that is.

"I volunteer" I shout loudly and begin to race towards the stage, I realise I never heard Lance shout and I turn around, he's not running. I jump up onto the stage and take a bow as the crowd clapped.

"you name" asks my escort

"Aries Dartrush" I yell "Son of Bastion Dartrush and your next victor"

* * *

**District one reapings Phoenix Starr:**

I watch as the boy stands on the stage, bowing and basking in the cheers from the crowd, I can't help but chuckle at his arrogance, the arrogant ones always go first.

"Onto the girls then" announces the escort and moves to the bowl, for a moment I feel a flash of fear, what if it's me? Yes I've trained, but I never really planned on ever volunteering.

"Phoenix Starr" announces the escort and I begin the walk to the stage, please somebody save me. I think as I climb the stairs gracefully.

The crowd is cheering though and Aries son of Bastion is shaking my hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the tributes of District one!"

I remain silent and still as I'm escorted to a room in the justice building, I remember this room, I first entered it as a ten year old, visiting my mum's youngest sister before she was sent off the games, I remember tears and promises of victory being made as we wished her luck. She came home a month later, with a new hair style and the title of victor, that's when I decided I wanted to train.

They don't let you dwell on those who lose the games from our district, we know it means certain death but we're trained not to show emotion, to dwell on their mistakes and how not to repeat them.

I'm thinking of how last year's district one tributes we're killed off by others in their team when my Aunt enters.

"I'll see you on the train" she tells me "But I just wanted to give you this first" she passes me her gold chain that she wore as her token in her games. I wrap my arms around her and let her leave the room, I'll have weeks to prepare with her.

A small group of girls from training are next, they wish me luck and give me lots of advice 'treat your water' 'don't take food from others' 'make sure I get to the cornucopia first', all the usual advice. I say farewell to each of them in turn until only Merc remains. I wrap my arms around my closest friend and we stand there for a moment.

"you can do this" she tells me "easy"

"yeah" I reply "Easy"

Mum and Dad are next, Mum weeps and I comfort her "I have Auntie Vic, to see me through" I tell her. Dad hugs me and we talk for a short while until the peacekeepers arrive.

"I love you" I yell out of the door as they leave. I take a deep breath and look in the mirror in the room, I'm ready for this.

* * *

**District 2 reapings Adrian Petronius:**

"Adrian" the voice is shrill, it belongs to my darling sister Ursa.

"What" I groan, can't a boy have a lie in on reaping day of all days.

"Get your lazy ass out of bed" she flings my curtains open and the sun streams onto my face, "we're training in five"

I fling my covers off and climb into my training clothes, as I leave my room I'm attacked by father and Ursa they pin me down with raucous laughter and I'm forced to fight my way out of it.

Mom leaves the bathroom and sees us, "Nero" she pleads to my father "leave the poor boy alone"

"Yeah poor little boy" laughs my sister and mom stares at her

"Nero control your daughter" she says hands on hips dad chuckles

"The lad needs toughening up Mia" he says getting up off me, I let out a sigh of relef.

"Go shower kids" says mom "I want us to have a nice family breakfast before the reaping"

I stand in the reaping pens, positioning myself near the front with the other career boys my age, there's obviously a lot less of us than usual but our high victor rate means were at least not struggling to find relatives of victors.

"hmm boys first this year I think" Artemes our escort says, he pulls out a slip and the boy steps onto stage, I know him from around he's only thirteen though, still needs work.

"Would you like to be replaced" asks Artemes, the boy looks up at an older man who is glaring at him "Yes please" he squeaks. The older man glares, someone's in for a whopping tonight I think.

"Any volunteers then" asks Artemes and my hand shoots up alongside three others, the other boys step back as a whistle is blown we race towards the stage, one boy if thrown back by the other he lands on the floor with a crash and lays there knowing he's beaten. The other boy reaches me, he's my age, a strong lad, a bully like Ursa I see the two hanging around together after training picking on the little kids.

He takes a swing for me and I duck, I use his monetary disorientated state to swing a kick into his chest and he topples down. The crowd cheer and I climb onto the stage with a grin.

"Thank you" says the small boy as he shakes my hand and runs off the stage disappearing into the crowd.

"Your name?" asks the escort,

"Adrian Petronius" I reply and the crowd cheers, everyone loves Father after all.

"Okay then, onto the girls"

* * *

**District 2 reapings Ursa Petronius: **

"Oh hell no" I yell as I see my dumb ass brother kick down Styx. He stands on the stage and grins, I look up and see father nodding, not on my watch big brother I think.

Our stupid escort chuckles and heads over to the girls bowl and pulls out a name, it's not me. Screw that I think, Adrian isn't getting a second of my glory.

"I volunteer" I yell, the other girl looks across at me from where she's heading up the steps to the stage, she turns and looks at me, I know her from around she's seventeen and a career, I could beat her any day though.

"I accept the place in the games" she says all formally with a little smile to a camera.

"I challenge you for it" I announce and the crowd gasps. The rest of the girls around me step back and I step towards the reaped girl. "You can't deny me this spot in games history"

"You'd fight your own brother" she asks me

"I'd kill him myself to win the games" I snarl as I dive for her, and slam my body into hers knocking her to the ground just as I did with Adrian that morning, we struggle for a while wrestling on the floor.

"My Uncle is expecting this" she tells me as the edge of her lip begins to bleed.

"My Father would rather it were I" I reply,

"I'm not giving up my place" she spits "You have some years left to volunteer"

"you can go next year too" I reply, slamming her head onto the stone paving, it begins to bleed but its only superficial, I've had worse at training.

"Let me go or I'll make training hell for those darling little siblings of yours" I hiss into her ear, she looks up at me and scowls.

"I relinquish my place as tribute" she announces loudly and I let her up, a peacekeeper runs over to check on her wound,

"She'll live longer with that than she would have in the games" I say with a loud laugh. I jump on the stage and shake hands with my brother who has remained in a silent state of shock through our whole fight "may the best girl win" I tell him as I look over to the crowd, trying not to notice that mother has started to weep.

* * *

**District 3 reapings Linnie Graphin:**

It all became clear on the day of the card reading, as President Snow stepped off the stage I had a big grin on my face, my mom on the other hand was weeping.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "We're safe for another year, this is good" my sisters who sit beside me look as confused as I.

My mom only cried a little more as my dad stroked her hair.

"I have a brother" mom wept eventually "a selfish horrible killer of a brother"

I raised my eyebrows in confusion "you mean we have an uncle"

She nods and I get it

"I have a victor uncle."

"Yes" replied dad.

"who is it" I demand standing up and glaring at them, I run over our districts four victors in my mind, one's a woman, there's two older guys who look noting like mom and then there's.

"Magnet" I whisper at the same time as my mother. Now I understand why I've never been told, the mans a mad man, I've seen his games he took out the entire career pack as well as many of the other tributes with his handmade electrical weapon the look of joy on his face as they convulsed to death always sickened me.

My mother continues to cry as my father comports her.

"The Magnet?" asks Quindra my younger sister, she'll be in this reaping too I realise, though Rachol has been safe three years now.

"I'll be back later" I tell them and run out of our apartment ignoring their shouts and make my way down the stairs and out of our main door. It's a cold night and the walk to the victor's buildings takes me a while, I keep going though, every step making me more determined to meet this man and discover more about him.

I press the buzzer for his apartment on the door and hear a yell, a window is flung open and I jump back in shock.

"What do ya want kid" he growls "I don't like beggars"

"I'm sorry sir for disturbing you but you're my uncle and the quell" I ramble quickly looking up at him. He has raven black hair like my mother and me and seems to be missing a few teeth.

He looks down at me for a second "you one of Ginno's girls?"

"Yes sir"

He sighs "come in then" I hear a buzz and the door opens for me, I tiptoe up to the third floor and tap on the door with his name.

"Your parents know your here?" he asks as I step into the large apartment, it's five times the size of ours and a complete mess. Is this mess of a man really my meticulously neat mother's brother?

"Yes sir" I say with a nod and close the door behind me, he passes me a can of soda and points to a grubby sofa,

"sit" he tells me "and don't call me sir. How old are you?" he asks sitting opposite me as I open the can.

"Sixteen, I have two sisters twenty two and thirteen" I guess his next question, he nods.

"You might not get reaped ya know" he says, opening a beer for himself "your sister might" he grins and I get a flash back to his games, his laughter, the blood, the death.

I shake my head, "I won't let her, anyway there's only four of you in this building, those odds aren't good"

"Never are" he replies staring at me as I sip my drink politely, the bubbles fizzing on my tongue are an unusual sensation "so what do you want"

"To meet you, to.." I pause, why did I come again?

He shakes his head, "tell ya what kid, you come to me a couple of times a week and I'll show ya some of my tricks"

He sees me squirm in my seat "and none of this nervous nonsense, you wanna be a victor. You've got to act brave, even if yar shitin ya self" he grins his tooth less smile and grabs himself a second beer.

I nod "Yes sir, I can do that"

I continue to visit his house as he shows me the inner workings of his games, how he sourced food in the barren wasteland and how he used his knowledge from the factories to fashion his weapon from found pieces. I listen and nod and every evening I wish harder and harder that I'm not chosen.

The day of the reaping comes and I dress up in one of my old dresses, it's a bit tatty but Magnet told me a dress would look better than trousers, I shove on my old boots though, may as well keep my feet warm.

I keep a tight hold of Quindra as we enter the reaping pens, we are not the only girls I notice two others stand a small distance away from me, staying close by me, are they sister, cousins? I wonder which of the victors they are related to and find myself wishing that they would be chosen to die instead of my sister or I. Over in the boys pen stands three boys, they all have the sandy coloured hair of our only living female victor and she stands on the stage shaking looking down at the three of them, knowing she will lose one to the games. This is sick I think, knowing that over in district two kids are fighting to be the ones stood on that stage as we wait.

"How exciting to be here for this quarter quell" announces the escort before she heads over to the girls bowl, I squeeze my sisters hand and hear my name being called.

No No No, I think as I begin to stride towards the stage "Linnie" says Quindra and I notice I'm still holding her hand, I let go. "I'll see you in there" I say giving her a quick hug.

I'm angry and I'm scared, why me? Why me?

* * *

**District 3 Chip Jobs:**

I know that girl I think as she climbs onto the stage, I've seen her around a lot since the quell was announced, always coming to our building to talk to the crazy old Magnet guy. Mom often caught me watching her out of the window and gave me a slap round the ear telling me stop being so nosy and carry with my school work.

I've never been good with school work though, not like my brothers, I'm good at listening though and taking people in, like now, I can see the girls sister crying in the pen next to us, the other two girls look happy are hugging each other. I look to my brothers, would they be happy if I was reaped, would I be happy if they were.

I don't have long to think about this because the escort has moved to the boys bowl, only two of those ten slips are mine I think, statistically that's got to be good, I'm trying to figure out the percentage when I hear my name.

"Yes?" I look up and see the whole district staring at me "Oh"

I take a few wobbly steps up to the stage and stand next to the girl, oh.

* * *

**District 4 Miriam "Mystic" Blackthorn:**

The clock on grandfather's wall told me it was almost one am as I slipped through his kitchen window landing expertly on the surface by the sink, I climb down and slip off my shoes.

I move silently through his house making my way to his study on the first floor, there as expected is his envelope of money from the capitol. I do what has to be done, taking enough but not all of it, the old man's senile and he never shared his money voluntarily when he wasn't so all I'm doing is helping give back to the community.

Making my way to the kitchen I fill a bag with food and slip my shoes back on before climbing out of his window feeling the money and cans of food in my bag.

I move quickly and as silently as possible until I reach my home, it's a half hour journey when I'm weighed down like this but I make it back safe.

I hide my bag in our small boat house and climb back into bed checking my mom and sister at the other side of our bedroom first, still fast asleep and none the wiser.

The next morning, I wake up early and head out before anyone else, I'm used to this lack of sleep, knowing I'm doing good helps it. I throw my bag of goodies into our little crumbling boat and pull it onto the water. A couple of tugs of the motor and it clunks into life.

I start off at the O'dair household Keld and his wife Jayne lost their eldest girl Annie to the games two years ago and the family were never well off even after Finns father won the games, though he's just another selfish old man, the two girls Katt and Jo answer the door and call for their father.

Finn looks tired as usual, they say he takes after his Grandfathers good looks but a lifetime of working on the most dangerous fishing trawlers has turned his skin withered and old before its time. I pass over a few cans and a ten dollar note which he accepts. He used to dismiss my help but recently has become too desperate. I wave good bye to the girls and head onto my next few stops.

Here the people don't know me, I leave cans on window sills and post a few notes through letter boxes. Soon I'm out of food and money and I have one last stop to make.

A final five dollar note in my pocket I make my way slowly through the town centre, until I reach the small shack by the sea, inside lives one of my closest friends Gabi and her family, I tap gently on the door and she opens it before pulling me inside the damp building.

She drags me under a table and holds a finger to her lips, from the other room I hear voices.

"I know nothing of any break ins sir" begs Gabi's father and I hear the sound of a baton striking him Gabi begins to shake and I hold her tight, the baton strikes her father again and she lets out a whimper, I rock her back and forth trying to comfort her.

"They think fathers been stealing money when he goes to do his deliveries in victors village" she whispers to me and I gulp, "they want to know where we're getting our money from"

"Oh, I'm so sorry" I gasp, this is my entire fault I realise, I thought I'd been so careful but people must be noticing, maybe grandfather has noticed.

We wait for a while longer remaining completely in silence until Gabi's father comes into the kitchen "he's gone now" he says and I watch as a chair is pulled out from the table, we emerge into the kitchen where I hand him the money.

"I'm so sorry sir, I'll be more careful from now on" I tell him, lowering my eyes so I don't have to look at the bruises where the baton struck his face. He takes my hand and I make myself look up at him.

"Don't ever be sorry for this good work that you do Mystic" he tells me "we will be more careful ourselves."

I nod, "I need to go, mom will be worrying."

I step out of the back door and make my way to the front of the house where I bump into someone, "oh sorry" I say looking up, it's the peacekeeper from earlier.

"What are you doing here" he asks me

"Visiting a friend" I reply with a gulp,

"At this home here"

"Yes sir"

"Then you'll have to come with me miss"

"Why?"

"I need to establish you're identity to see if you have any connection to a series of robberies"

"But I'm just a kid" I reply taking two steps back, he glares at me

"If you don't co-operate" he begins pulling out a tazer, I spin around and begin to run. I weave around the houses of Gabi's fishing neighbourhood as he follows me.

Somewhere busy I think and run towards town, I'm keeping a few steps ahead of him, my empty stomach filling me with adrenaline whilst he looks weighed down with equipment and armour in the warm weather.

I reach the town centre and manage to lose him in the crowd. Eventually I make my way home the long way realizing I've left my boat at the other side of town, I'll have to send someone for it I suppose.

That evening mom comes in from work at the canning factory and she's not happy, "the whole peacekeeper force are after you Miriam" she scolds "what in the name of Panem have you done"

"Nothing grandfather shouldn't be doing" I mumble, but I realise this is it, the end of my career as a master thief, I'm stuck in this house now, forever.

That night they announced the quell.

The reaping comes faster than expected, I've not been outside since the peacekeeper saw me. Staying in my house and spending my time preparing. I've practiced with throwing knives, I've watched previous games and I've read up on survival techniques. I may not be a career, but if my name comes up I'm ready.

To my side stand Jo and Katt, there are five other girls in the enclosure, relatives of the other eight victors. Not one of them looks like they could be a career. I keep my head lowered, a scarf wrapped around it dressed all in black, I'm far too hot in this weather, but I need to stay hidden.

I see the peacekeeper from the other month at Gabi's house and duck behind a taller girl, he couldn't see me not now, not after I'd been so careful at disguising myself those years and hiding away these last few months.

The escort moves over to the girls ball first, I hope it's not me, or Katt or Jo, they're family have lost too much.

"Miriam Blackthorne"

I keep my head lowered as I walk towards the stage and as I stand looking out at the crowd below me I catch the peacekeeper from Gabi's house watching me a terrifying little smile on his lips. He knows and no matter if I make it out of this alive, I'm dead anyway.

* * *

**District 4 Gunnar Reef:**

I am exhausted, the training program has been working me five times as hard as ever before these last few weeks, I know I'm going into the games but you'd have thought they'd give me some slack, it's not like I've not been preparing my whole life.

"I'm still surprised I'm the only legacy career" I tell Shale my trainer he shrugs

"People here are less keen on the games than we were I suppose" he tells me, it's true, district four have never come back to regain their full glory after the failed rebellion which crippled this whole country of ours.

"Their loss" I reply as I go to return my spear to its casing, I say a silent goodbye to the weapon that I've trained with my whole life, tomorrow morning after the reaping I'll be using the capitols weapons, then onto the arena and when I return home I'll be done.

I jump into the sea for a quick swim to cool down then walk home slowly letting myself dry in the sun, passing the two unkempt yards of our two eldest victors, two grumpy old men who hate everything except each other, before I was born one of them brought my mother home from the games so I suppose I owe them something, despite the hate I feel for them.

Speaking of my mother I realise I never spoke to her this morning before I left for training, I owe her that at least. Today is the last day before I'll volunteer for the games and repeat her success. Although I promise myself I'd never become like her after my victory, cold and distant and a drunk. I love her of course; she brought me into the world so I owe her that. I also know that my victory in the games will show me as her equal and maybe then she can trust me and love me.

I enter my house to find her in the kitchen, head on the table hand on a bottle of wine she'd had shipped in specially from one for her birthday two days ago.

"I thought you were saving that for a special occasion" I say trying to prise the bottle from her hands, she groans and I let go.

"Leave her be" my uncle Ulric says appearing from the bathroom, "its a big day tomorrow" he says "you excited" he sounds sad and distant.

"Yes very" I reply throwing my hands to my sides in a military pose, he sighs

"You don't have to volunteer tomorrow you know" he tells me, he tells me this every few weeks, more often since the quell was announced.

"Yes I do" I reply "I have to"

He shakes his head and walks over to sit next to mother "no one has to do anything they don't want to Ulric, don't repeat others mistakes"

I know by others he means my mother and I know he means well, he's raised me my whole life while mom had one 'episode' after another and went in and out of hospital with her drinking.

"I won't repeat any mistakes then uncle" I reply formally before leaving the room

"What about dinner" he calls after me

"I ate at training" I tell him and shut myself in my room. I am ready I am prepared and tomorrow when they call out some unfortunate boys name I will save him and win their games to prove myself to mother.

The next morning the three of us walk to the reaping in silence, mother walks off to wait on the stage with the districts other decaying victors but uncle Ulric makes me wait a moment longer before I sign in.

"A good luck charm" he says squeezing something into my palm, "for the arena"

"you can give it me in the town hall" I say "its tradition"

"no" he says sharply, "I'm not going in there, this will be my goodbye"

I nod and give him a salute which makes him wince "this isn't goodbye uncle, I will be back"

* * *

**A quick district four history lesson for you, incase you were confused by any of that, After the rebellion failed and the rebels and other remaining victors were brought to the capitol it was discovered at Annie was pregnant. Outcry from the capitol citizens convinced Snow to allow Annie to live as Finnick and the others were executed. On the birthing table 'complications' killed Annie but the boy was still born, he was sent to the district four community home, he lived a hard life under the stricter controls of district four and was reaped at age sixteen, despite the capitols best attempts, citizens loved him and he was showered with gifts in the arena and able to come home. He grew angry and bitter over the years as people kept coming to him asking for help, he refused as no one had ever helped him in his youth. He did however let some women share his bed for which he paid them a small fee, when one of these women returned later with a son and told him it was named after his father he slammed the door in her face. Years later he acted indifferent as his granddaughter Annie was reaped and he watched her die in the arena.**


	3. Reapings two

**District five reapings Danny Allardyce:**

"Auricula what the heck are you doing" I yell up to my twin sister who has just started climbing up the side of our house,

"I'm going to sit on the roof" she tells me

"you're crazy, you'll fall"

She just laughs and keeps climbing, I wince as she slips but she manages to regain her footing pulling herself onto the room "I can see school from up here" she yells down.

"Sure whatever" I reply "I'm going round to Aunt Zippy's to invite her over for dinner, you want to come?"

"Nah I'm good"

After a short walk over to the Victors Village, I knock on my aunts door, and it flies open she stands there with her little glasses around her neck and her hair flying up in the air, her eyes look behind me shifting around.

"You alone?" she asks

"Yeah" she grabs my shoulder and pulls me inside, shutting and locking the door behind me

"Come see" she says running downstairs into her basement and I follow, her basement is dark but clear, a single lamp illuminates her desk at the far side off the room. "Look" she announces gesturing towards the piles of paper on her desk.

I look down at the complicated notes filled with numbers and writing and don't understand any of it. I look up at my aunt who in the darkness looks twice as crazy as usual. "I don't know what I'm looking at" I tell her.

She smiles and stabs at a sheet on it is a graph showing numbers along the vertical axis and dates along the horizontal, the line remains constant until it shoots up around fifteen years ago remains constant for a few years and drops again suddenly.

"Don't you get it" she says her icy blue eyes staring into mine.

I shake my head.

"Twins" she shouts before looking shiftily around her again as if someone could have heard. "Look here" she taps the point where the graph rises "what year was this"

"The year I was born"

"you and your sister yes, how many sets of twins are in your year at school"

I think about it, "twelve" I reply, she laughs and claps her hands together.

"The statistical probability of twins being born to a mother is three percent, of course factor such as age and health and race do factor in as well but really the percentage is still low"

I nod to show I'm keeping up,

"The year you and your sister were born and the year before and after it as well, that percentage reached sixty five percent that is a major increase"

"Oh" I reply

"Well it's certainly not natural" she continues "they made it happen, when the mothers were pregnant" I look at her in complete confusion.

"How why?"

"Research, science who knows, its why so many of you are unstable"

"Unstable?"

"Your sister where is she now"

"urm sitting on our roof"

"aha" Aunt Zippy claps her hands and begins to carry on writing on her pad.

"I need to go" I tell her "but mom says you're invited for dinner" I run up the stairs out of her basement and begin to head home, I suppose underneath the ridiculous notion, she does have a point.

Her point is proven further at the reaping, I look over to where my sister stands with another pair of twins and another girl who's twin brother stands beside me. There are six boys in total in the reaping and four girls. I'm in for a better chance at getting out of this than Auricula I think moments before I hear my name being called. Aunt Zippy screams on the stage and begins to shout about conspiracies and medical testing as I'm being led up to the stage.

"I'm so sorry" she screams collapsing on the floor "I'm so so sorry sister" what have I got myself in for?

* * *

**District five reapings Shadow Daniels:**

I hold my arms around my youngest sisters Helens small body as we listen to our parents fighting, Meadow my twin sister sits by the door her head resting in her knees, I hear a glass smash and a door slam then silence.

"Is it over" asks Helen her blue eyes looking into mine.

"I think so" I answer, looking over to Meadow who has raised her head from her knees.

"We should go to bed" she suggests,

There is a tap at the door and the three of us look up "Hello? girls?" its mom's voice,

Meadow stands up and unlatches the door mom comes in and sits on Helens bed "you're fathers gone to join your brother on his night shift" she tells us "he says he'll see you in the morning" with that she stands up and helps us into bed. No more explanation is ever needed, we all know whats wrong its what always makes dad angry. The Games.

The morning of the reaping is a warm one, Meadow and I dress in our nicest brown matching dresses and walk down to the reaping with mom and Helena we meet up with Jake who tells us Father is already meeting the other victors and getting ready.

I nod but Meadow begins to shake, I hold her shoulder to keep her still and we head into the reaping, I make sure we keep together. There are only four girls here including us, our odds don't look good at all, the boys are called first and it's Danny Allardyce. His twin sister stands beside us and begins to weep as his aunt who stands on the stage collapses and begins to shout about something, I hear the words twins and testing and grip harder onto my sister's hand that is still shaking.

"It'll be okay Meadow, we'll be safe" I whisper in her ear as I stroke her hair. The crazy victor is escorted off stage as Danny just stands there looking confused and scared.

"Okay then, the girls" yells our escort looking slightly dishevelled.

"Shadow Daniels" Meadow begins to scream and hold onto me, I can't get her to let go,

"I need to go now" I tell her, forcing my tears away "I need to go"

Jake runs into the pens and takes hold of Meadow. "go on Shadow, I'll see you in there"

I nod and manage to get off Meadow; I turn to the stage and try to block out the sound of my twin sister my other half as she cries and weeps.

I shake Danny's hand and we are led into the town hall, first to visit me is father, he's on his own. "I'll see you on the train Shadow, be strong for them" he kisses me on the forehead and leaves.

Next is Marisa Blake, she's my closest friend beyond my sister, it's a strange coincidence but she had a twin sister too, but she died when they were both still babies. I let her share Meadow though and we always tell people we're triplets even though they never believe us.

"Take care of our sister" I tell her

"I promise" she replies before the peacekeepers come to take her away.

Xander is next, I give him a quick kiss, he's my first boyfriend and I love him so much, he gives me a necklace with a small heart on it, "make it your token" he asks "please"

"Yes" I reply and throw my arms around his neck as we both cry.

Soon though his time is up and the peacekeepers drag us apart. "I love you" he yells as the door is closed behind him.

I compose myself and wait for my family to enter. Helena runs in first and jumps on my lap, wrapping her little arms around my neck, "don't go Shadow" she says

"I have to" I reply, "it's the rules"

Meadow is still shaking and I beckon her over "I love you twinie" I tell her

"Love you too" she replies and I bring her into our hug, mom and Jake join in too, "love you mom" I tell her.

"I love you too shadow, listen to your father"

"I will" I tell her, unsure if I should.

"Mom can we have a couple of moments" asks Jake, mom nods and leads my sisters out of the room and away from me forever.

Jake wraps his arms around me, "little sister, promise me something" he asks

"What?"

"Listen to dad"

"But he's so"

"Horrible to mom yes, he's a fighter though and he can make you into one too, I trust him to"

"I'll listen to every word" I reply and he lets go of me "I love you Jake"

"Love you too little sis" he ruffles my hair and leaves me alone in my room, waiting for the guards to take me to the train where father and the capitol await.

* * *

**District six reapings Tiberius Ford: **

"I have to go see her mom" I yelled across our small kitchen, "she's my grandmother and I might be going into the games because of her"

"I've told you this before Tiberius, no way" my mother yells back "that woman and her dealings with the capitol made my childhood hell, the way they watch your every move, they way they controlled her and wanted to control me too"

"I know I know" I reply "so you ran away from home at sixteen, met a man who got you pregnant then left you with a baby, happy endings for all" I deserve the slap she gives me for my insolence, but it still stings, "I'm going to my room".

I sit on my bed for a moment, calming myself down, I need to go out there and apologise I think, the reaping will be tomorrow and I don't want to leave it like this. As i open my bedroom door I see her sat at the kitchen table, head in hands.

"I'm sorry mom" I begin

"No I'm sorry, I'll introduce you at the reaping tomorrow" she says and I go over to hug her

"we'll be fine tomorrow then it'll be back to normal" I say

"yeah normal"

The next morning before the reaping I dress in my smartest clothes and head over to the town centre where mom is already waiting, she stands beside another woman who looks like her but maybe a few years older, that must be my aunt.

"Hello" I say joining them "where's grandmother? You promised I'd meet her today" I ask my mom.

"She had to go to the stage early for something, you'll see her after though I promise" mom replies, "Helena this is Tiberius"

"Nice to meet you" the lady replies "I'm your aunt Helena, I have a daughter she's about your age I think"

"I'm sixteen"

"Few years older then, you're big for your age" she says giving me a smile. That's a lie I think, what's with adults and lies like that.

"Mom" the voice of another woman calls across, and Aunt Helena turns around.

"Libya over here" she waves and the young woman comes closer as she gets nearer I see she's closer to my age with brown hair a similar shade to mine and moms, I guess this is my cousin.

"Mom we have to go to the pens now" says Libya barely throwing me a glance, "I'll see you after" she says and disappears again into the crowds.

"I'd better go too" I say and wrap my arms around mom "It's a pleasure to meet you auntie" I say and run off in the direction Libya went.

After the speeches and the treaty comes the reaping, boys first.

"Tiberius Ford"

crap.

I stand on the stage looking down at the group of girls wondering who I'd have to kill to come home.

"Libya Mason"

My cousin, great and at least grandma knows what she looks like; I guess I'm pretty doomed. I watch as she walks up to the stage, not showing a single emotion. I take her in fully, she's muscled I guess, her hair is pulled up high and it makes her face look stretched but hard. Thinking about it she wouldn't look out of place in a career district. This is not good for me, not good at all.

* * *

**District six reapings Libya Mason:**

Every week my mother and I go round to my grandmother's house in the victor's village, she cooks for us and we share our stories from the week, I hated it.

Never really been one for emotion and the like, and sharing time at grandmas always became emotional, they'd talk about moms long lost sister and my dead father and I'd stare intently at my plate of food waiting for our visit to end.

As we'd leave grandma would always take me to one side and quietly ask if mom has been well this week, I'd always reply in the positive, I have to stay positive, we all do.

Today will be an emotional day I realise as I sit in the town hall waiting to say my goodbyes, not that this will be goodbye I hope. All I have to do is win, win like grandmother did.

I give a quick thought to my fellow tribute, apparently he's my cousin so grandmother will have to mentor both of us. This may work in my favour as she's never met him till today, however it may not.

She is the first into the room and she's alone.

"So" I say

"So" she replies, "you can do this, your strong"

I laugh at her ridiculous comment "theirs kids much stronger than me Gran, big strong kids who've trained their whole life. Have you visited him yet?"

She shakes her head, "I promised his mother I would wait till the train"

"will it be hard" I ask "mentoring your two grandchildren, deciding who you want to die most"

"that decision will be up to you Libya, you prove yourself out there and you may come home yet"

I nod "I will Gran"

"Good" she pats my arm and leaves the room.

Mom is next and we sit quietly talking for the remaining time in my hour, I don't want to see any of the kids from school, not today, they'll only come to stare. Eventually after a while of conversation about tactics and home and plans for her future I stand up and say goodbye to my mother for what may be the last time.

* * *

**District 7 reapings Ayla Bane:**

I try to remain optimistic, the odds aren't good, I think there will only be around ten girls at the reaping today, all relatives of our districts four remaining victors. We still have more than some of the districts and maybe someone will volunteer.

I keep these positive thoughts in my mind as I wake my sister and we search through her few dresses to find the tidiest.

"Do you think Uncle Rowan will be scared for us" she whispers as I brush through her hair as I do every morning.

"I'm sure he's scared Amber" I reply "but you shouldn't be, you'll be safe" I don't really even know my uncle, I see my cousin around though, a little six year old called Grover, he's safe today.

"I'm scared Ayla" she says "there's only going to be a few of us, it's scary"

I keep a straight face and tie up her hair "we'll be fine" I tell her.

I find a matching dress to Ayla's and we head out of our small room to the kitchen where mom is cooking us some eggs. I grin at the smell, it's a rareity that we can afford real eggs rather than the powdered stuff.

"You're uncle Rowan, dropped these off for you girls this morning" she tells us, this is odd as we never talk to him, I guess he's feeling guilty for dragging us into this "he says to stay brave".

I nod as I tuck into the eggs, it's an awkward feeling, around the district there will be eighteen year olds waking up safe one year early and families celebrating this quell as their families are safe.

Amber nibbles hers slowly I poke her gently, "those eggs will walk away if you're much slower" she hurries up scoffing down the eggs at a faster rate.

I turn to mom "where's dad?"

She shrugs, he went out first light , he'll see you before the reaping though.

We finish up our eggs and mom takes us along the long walk to the district centre, we live around an hour away and as we're entering the sight of the justice building I see dad sat on a bench at the side of the road. He stands up and brings us both in for a hug "be brave girls" he tells us "there are still good odds for us all"

"the odds weren't in uncle Rowans favour though" squeaks Amber and I feel dad tense up at the mention of his brothers name.

"no" he replies "but you two brave girls will be fine" he kisses both our heads and lets me lead Amber away from him and Mom and into the pens.

The sun is beating down in the square, it's one of the few un-wooded areas of our district and It only adds to the uneasiness that is being felt. I stand hand in hand with Amber with ten other girls, all relatives of the seven victors on the stage, uncle Rowan shuffles uneasily and keeps his eyes focused at the back of the crowd where Aunt Ivy and Grover stand. I stare at him until his eye catches mine when he looks away in shame.

Our escort is the usual bubbly capitol citizen, she's called Soli as far as I recall, I squeeze Ambers hand tightly as she welcomes the crowd and the viewing public back home.

After the usual talks and treaty of treason reading she saunters over to the female bowl first and pulls out a name. She reads it as I stare at the floor, after a moment of silence she reads it again.

Why isn't anyone responding I wonder as I press down on Ambers hand

"Ayla" she whispers "its you"

"Ayla Bane" calls Soli for the third time and I look up to see a peacekeeper stepping towards me arm out stretched.

He takes hold of me shoulder and I feel my hand slipping away from my sisters as I'm led up to the stage.

* * *

**District seven reapings Euan Hawthorne**

I feel the weight of the axe in my hand as I position myself at the far end of the garden, I face away from the house towards the forest and aim it towards tree around the edges of grandfather's garden, I suppose technically it's my garden too now ever since the accident at the mill. But I don't like to think about it.

I'm comfortable here I suppose, the house is bigger than my old place but even after two years I'm not home, I keep expecting to see mom in the kitchen turning our ration grain into some new form of rabbit stew or dad whittling sticks into the fire.

My nostalgic thoughts cause me to miss the tree I jog over to retrieve the axe, returning back to my original throwing point I force my mind to empty.

"focus on the tree" I mumble "focus on the tree"

I fling the axe through the air and it strikes the tree I was aiming at, I allow a small smile to escape my lips and head over to collect it again.

Three more strikes on the tree I decide I'm bored, Grandfather will be home soon from whatever Victors do all day in town and he likes to have a coffee waiting for him. I watch the kettle boil on the stove and ponder the reaping tomorrow, I'll be in it, one of sixteen boys I think, we in seven have been doing well in the games the last seventy five years. When grandfather won the second games they threw in celebration of the one hundredth anniversary he began a winning streak of three consecutive wins with more coming later.

Grandfather isn't a big fan of the capitol despite this and I often have to tell him off for speaking out of turn, this always seems to upset him and set him off mumbling about something, I suppose he's getting old.

I love him though, of course I do, he didn't have to take me in after the accident, he could have left me in the care of the capitol in the home or with another family. But no we're family and he loves me too much for that.

I hear the front door open, "Ewan, you in there kiddo" he calls out.

I run into the front door and take Grandfathers coat hanging it up, he ruffles my hair and passes me a bag of sweets he picked up in town.

"Coffee done yet?" he asks heading towards the kitchen

"Not yet" I mumble my mouth full of chewy sweets "I was out back practicing"

"You getting better?" he asks taking a sweet from the bag in my hand and putting it in his mouth

"Yeah, hit four out of five throws today, first one missed I got distracted"

"Good lad"

I shove some more sweets in my mouth as I make up his coffee and pass it to him, I rummage in the cupboard until I find a tub of coco and make myself a hot chocolate. We sit together and look out of the window in silence, the trees sway slowly in the wind and the sound of birds fills the air.

"About tomorrow?" I begin

"Yes"

"If I'm called"

"you won't be"

"but if I am, do you think I can win"

"Yes Ewan, with me to mentor you you'll win"

"Good"

The next morning is cold, we wake up early and join some of the other victors on the walk down to the town square, and the mood is sombre and quiet as every family here could lose a child today. Please don't let it be me I silently ask a passing squirrel.

The name Ayla Bane is called out first, I've never heard of her and I know most of the kids who visit the victor's village, nearly every victor came to my parent's funeral.

Then the boys ball is reached in to, I feel myself holding my breath.

"Ewan Hawthorne" oh no.

* * *

**District eight reapings Sisal Mallott:**

Jute hasn't been the same since he came home from the games, I remember a lively happy brother one who was a bit mean to me at times but one who loved me after all. I think he does still love me as I love him but he's quieter now, he gets jumpy at the slightest shock and once at dinner when dad picked up the knife to cut up the meat he took a swing at him before collapsing on the floor.

Mom and dad tell me he'll get better, he just needs to try and forget the games, that won't happen though. I watched his games last year and I'll never forget them so expecting him to won't work.

This year the quell means I'll be in the reaping because of him if I am chosen I think I'd rather die than come home like him, it wouldn't be fair on mom and dad to have to deal with two of us like that.

Jute watches me as I eat my small breakfast that morning not touching his own food.

"you're stareing Jute" I tell him.

"Huh" he replies "no I was just" he pauses taking a deep breath "I was just thinking"

"About today"

"yeah and well other things"

I nod knowing not to pry to far, "I'm going to put on my new dress for today" I tell him with a smile "the blue one"

"From McMillan's Store?"

"Yeah"

"I like that one"

"me too"

"Sisal, Jute, we need to be leaving now" the call of Mother comes from the front door.

"come on little Red" he says "you better get dressed so we can go"

"Sure" I reply jumping off my chair and running up stairs to get dressed.

We arrive at the reaping in good time and Jute, Mom and Dad wrap their arms around me for good luck Mom passes me one of her prize thimbles as a good luck token. There are three victors still alive in district eight, Jute and two older women on of whom wraps her arm around Jute as they stand on the stage, I don't think Mom likes her.

I stand with three other girls all sixteen to eighteen with more slips than me, maybe I am in luck.

"Sisal Mallott"

* * *

**District eight reapings Fuller Manchester:**

There will be two of my family in this year's reaping, my eighteen year old brother and I out of the five children my mom had were the two youngest. They're all fussing over him though, giving him pointers right up to the day of the reaping. He's a big lad, eats more than I do as he's always managed to be first to dinner and get the best portions, pushing me or my sisters out of the way.

He has a chance in the games, more than I would. He's got some muscle from humping around bags of raw cotton at the yard all day. I have the neatest overlock stitch in my class but I don't think it'll help me fight off a career tribute.

I look up at the stage where mom stands with our other victors, she's not looking at the crowd she's looking at her feet, she never liked the crowds and the spotlight that came with winning the games but she endures it once a year at the reaping before disappearing back home with us and letting some other victors do the mentoring job.

The girls are drawn first, a small twelve year old is chosen, she walks up to the stage shaking and crying, the escort asks for volunteers, silence.

"Onto the boys then" she heads over to the second ball and slips her long purple fingers in to the giant glass ball.

"Fuller Manchester" I let out a small squeak as my name is called and force myself to walk up to the stage,

"Any volunteers" the escort almost mumbles, this is it I think looking down at my brother, he's ready, they've trained him he'll take my place. District eight will have its first ever volunteer.

"Okay here are your tributes district nine, Sisal Mallott and Fuller Manchester, shake hands guys"

I shake hands with the crying girl and as were heading into the town hall I tell the escort that I don't want any visitors. I can do this on my own.


	4. Reapings three

**Thanks for being patient with me to re-upload this story I wanted to get life death and alligator mutts back up and finished first as I'd been working on that longer. All my attention will be on this story now. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

**District nine reapings Gadish Blackwood:**

"Gadish are you out of bed yet!" the shrill voice of my mother flies up the stairs. I groan and turn over taking a peak at the clock on my table.

"The reapings not for another three hours" I whinge closing my eyes again, I can get another hours sleep at least.

"Yes, but I've made pancakes and your brother and sister are already on their second plate" the promise of food causes my eyes to shoot open and I jump out of bed, I'm not missing out on pancakes.

I throw on some slacks and a baggy t-shirt not caring what I look like and head downstairs.

"Now what you've got to know it's those other districts, the more industrial ones don't have a clue what natural food looks like" my sister Kasha was giving the usual reaping day prep speech to our brother Aviv who was listening intently. I'm the baby of the family by about a year, being sixteen whilst Aviv is seventeen and Kasha had just turned twenty three.

"You need to listen to me too Gadish" says Kasha "you could get reaped too chubby"

"I'm good" I reply grabbing a double helping of pancakes needing to catch up with my siblings "there's what five victors living around us, and the Ghrams have what six kids, all boys" I grin and start to stuff my mouth.

"You're funeral Gadish" says Aviv morbidly and I stick my food covered tongue out at him.

"Guys we need to be setting off in the wagon in thirty minutes" mom says coming into the room munching on a cookie.

"Oh mom can I have a cookie too" I ask, "look I've finished my pancakes"

"That you have greedy chops" she chuckles "go one grab one, but careful there hot"

I walk into the kitchen and eat a cookie slipping one in my pocket for later, before joining my siblings to wait for the wagon to take us to the town square.

"You wearing that?" asks Kasha, she's wearing one of her posh capitol frocks and is joined by my brother who is fiddling with a tie.

"Leave him be" says my dad coming up behind her before ruffling my hair "you look fine Gadish"

"He looks like some kid from the streets" she replies with a whine "we have an image to uphold"

"Is your smart blue jumper clean?" asks dad

I shake my head "I spilt gravy on it remember, mom took it to the cleaners"

"Never mind then" he says and I stick my tongue out at my sister.

We clamber into the back of the wagon as it arrives already half full with the families of the other four victors in our district, I count a total of twelve boys of reaping age and more will join us in the centre. I'm kinda glad most district nine families are quite large, its meant there's always less worry of being reaped when your competition is so large.

Arriving at the town centre, we sign in and wait in the pens, and the escort comes on stage; I decide to eat my cookie while we wait and pull it out of my pocket, it's a little fluffy so I begin to pick bits of fluff off before shoving it in my mouth. I look up to the stage and find the escort is staring back at me.

"Bless I don't think he heard us" she chuckles and I scowl at the woman "Your male tribute from district nine; Gadish Blackwood"

"Go on up fat boy" chortles one of the Ghrams boys and I find myself being led up to the stage.

* * *

**District nine reapings Allyson Mala**

Mother always says I have an attitude problem, she's the one with the problem, other people who have a problem include but are not limited to, the capitol and that stupid fat kid who is now walking no waddling up to his death while chewing on some food.

I'm tapping my foot nervously now as the woman who escorts us begins to waltz over to the female bowl, it's the last time I'll have to watch this at least this circus we are forced through each year. Over in the back of the square I see my friends waiting for me we're all planning on opening some beer this evening to celebrate everyone's last reaping. Their the safe ones though I'm stuck here, all thanks to Mother.

"Allyson Mala" my name comes from the bowl and I feel my heart stop.

"F*ck, F*ck, F*uck" I yell as I push my way through the crowd to stand by the fat boy on the stage, he's started to cry.

"Brilliant, it's my last f*cking year so thanks for that love" I say to the escort who looks at me like I'm a piece of dirt, well the feelings mutual.

I'm led to a waiting room and I can hear the waling of the fat boy as I wait for someone to come see me, my friends are first, "for the train" someone says shoving a bottle in my hand, its Dal's homebrew the one we were planning on opening tonight.

"thanks guys" I say hugging them one by one, even Dal who isn't much of a hugging guy "you f*ck them up okay Ally" he tells me

"I'll show them on one messes with us" I reply and they all begin to leave as the peacekeeper enters the room, I hide the bottle behind me on the chair.

I fit the bottle into a long pocket of my jacket and wait for my parents to come in, Dad and little Rye in his arms.

"Mom not bothering?" I ask, "she just gone home?"

"No she's on the train already" dad tells me "be nice to her"

"I'm always nice" I say with a grin.

* * *

**District ten reapings Tiffany Royce:**

Three, that's how many victors our stinking district has, three, its disgusting that all these years after the rebellions we can't drag together one decent tribute, that's why I train. The peacekeepers know I train but they don't care, the more food our district gets the less robberies they have to deal with as people become desperate.

My aunt won the games, she's a fighter she got herself out of the poverty that surrounds us all the time and she's taught me that I can do the same. My family have always said I should have been born in a career district, I agree.

"You're stupid for doing this" Lucan says as we wait to be processed before waiting in the pens, I hate the place, we literally use the same pens for the animals on market day that we do for our children.

"All I'm doing is giving some other unfortunate a chance of life" I reply, trying not to breathe in the animal smell.

He just sighs and goes to give his blood sample to the peacekeeper, I walk up to the next one and then into the pens.

"Please think again before you do anything stupid" my brother begs again before going to join our cousin Boyne in the fifteen year old section, I find myself alone in the muddy pen designated for eighteen year old girls. Our escort steps up on stage and I stare up at him, his manicured hands haven't done a day's work in his life and his hair is so shiny and neat, if I could look and feel like him for only a week it'd all be worth it.

"Hello district ten my name is Pompeo he announces "its a pleeeaseure to meet you all this year for my first ever reaping"

Pompeo bounces over to the male bowl first and pulls out a name "Virgil Irving"

Virgil yes I know him from around, seventeen but large for his age, I can see his muscles, nice he should be easy to seduce and kill.

"Talia Worthing" he says, I see her now emerging from the fourteen year old section, shaking a little, looking over to Lucas I see he is shaking my head, I wink at him and raise my hand.

"I Volunteer"

* * *

**District ten reapings Virgil Irving**

"Virgil Irving" the sound of my name echos around the pens and momentarily fills me with dread, the dread fades to acceptance pretty quickly though. Although if it was going to happen, I'd prefer not to be against the kids of previous victors, some of the ones you see on TV look brutal.

I stand on the stage and watch the girls being reaped, Talia, I know her from around I think she's one of Sable's friends.

"I volunteer" the words bring the whole district to a stand-still, who would be so stupid? I look down and see the girl now bounding up from the girls section, her blond hair flapping behind her back in a single braid.

"Oh my gosh a volunteer" says our rather effeminate escort, I scowl at him, that kind of thing may be alright in the capitol but out here we're not a big fan. "What's you name darling" the man slurs his words, trying to copy our accent and failing hilariously.

"Tiffany Royce" replies the girl making a little curtsey to the audience who have actually begun to clap. I hate her already.

"Hey hun" she smiles coming right into my face as she shakes my hand "you excited? I'm super excited" she tries to copy the capitol accent and fails worse than Pomp or whatever his name was did. As she bounces in front of me I notice the necklace dangling down within her cleavage, is it actual silver? I read the writing around the edge 'C'est la Vie, C'est la Mort' I smile at the sentiment and wonder if she even knows what it means.

We are led through to the meeting rooms in the town hall, Mom and Dad come in first hugging and saying goodbye, "You're Nana has your token for you, so we didn't bring anything" they say "Be brave you're a strong boy Virgil" I nod in agreement, yes I'm strong working on the ranches does that to you, but other than that I'm useless when it comes to any kind of weaponry.

Next comes my sister Sable and her friend Talia "we just went to see the other girl" Sable tells me "Virgil she's crazy she talks like she's from district one or something"

"She's stupid sis" I tell the worried looking girls "I know she volunteered for you Talia but who would you rather see come home"

Talia looks shook up at the question, it's been a rough day for her too I suppose "You Virgil" she replies her face serious, "then I'll come home little ones" I tell them before they are forced to leave.

Last in is Nana Kennedy "I have a token for you" she says passing me a strip of leather, "I used it as a choker but it's up to you"

It looks too small to fit around my neck so I tie it around my wrist instead "how's that?" I ask her

"Perfect" she tells me beginning to lead me out of the room and onto the train "now I suppose I should tell you all about what to expect in the capitol"

**(The necklace says 'it is life it is death')**

* * *

**District eleven reapings Cane Wilkes:**

I wake up early, throw on my usual work clothes and a floppy hat and grab a piece of our ration bread which I scoff down quickly before heading out the door. I figure I can skip leaving a note for my parents, it's pretty obvious where I'm heading.

The walk to the victors village is a bit of a distance but I manage to hop on a empty cart heading that way.

"You know one of them victors then?" asks the wagon driver after a short while as we trundle up the road.

"Yeah my cousin" I reply

"So you're?" he asks

"Yeah" I reply with a sigh before jumping off the cart and heading towards the victors village.

"Good luck kid" yells the driver as he sets off again.

I jog the rest of the way and finally make it to Thorns house where I slip through the open back door and up to his brother's bedroom. I hold up a finger to my lips as I silently wake my cousin Axel up, he looks at me confused and I grin.

"We're going to wake up your brother" I say with a grin Axel returns the smile and we creep across the landing to my cousins room where I see him sprawled out across a double bed, I gesture for Axel to move over to the other side of the bed, I count down from five on my fingers and on one we both line our mouths by his ears and on one scream in his ears.

Thorn jumps up out of bed "what the h*ll" he screams and I fall over laughing "Panem's sake Cane, haven't you heard the old saying"

"What?"

"Never wake a sleeping victor you nut" he yells as Axel is still chuckling,

"chill out bro" I tell him "you want me to make you up a coffee"

"Its the lest you can do you little sh*t" he replies and I run off downstairs.

He hasn't realised what I already know, I'm going into the games today and there's nothing he can do to stop me.

I stand by Axel in the preposterously large reaping area, we are literally the only boys here, I run over our previous victors in my head, there is precisely three. Thorn, a girl called Willow and an old man Whent, he's somewhat of a legend around our district, beyond bringing two victors home over the last few years, he runs a makeshift hospital from his house in the village.

Whent may be a good doctor but he never married and as far as I know had no siblings, it clicks into place when I spot a girl arrive, she stands alone in the reaping area and realises what I am. I catch her eye and nod towards her.

She's going into the arena and I'm not going to let Thorn lose his brother, I mouth 'hello' to my fellow tribute.

"Boys first" calls the escort on the stage and I prepare myself,

"Axel Wilks" calls our escort and before Axel has a chance to step forward I head for the stage, "Stay there" I tell him before announcing that I volunteer to the crowd and cameras.

* * *

**District eleven reapings Raine Dash:**

The tall boy kept staring at me and mouthing something, I don't know what, I look up at my sister on the stage, she's shaking a little.

I realise quickly that I'm going into the arena, I never thought to look to see what family the other victors had choosing to spend my time after the announcement of the quell training with my sister, she taught me to use her bow and arrow and we raced and we argued. The usual.

I can never make my mind up with Willow, one minute she's a whiney little brat who has to ask me to get rid of a spider, the next I'm going to lose her forever to the games and then before I know it she's returning home a victor, the blood of five tributes on her hands.

The boy who had been staring at me goes up first he had volunteered for his brother or cousin much to the shock of the crowd, the victor on the stage Thom doesn't look shocked though, I think they planned it.

Now I'm stood here, alone in my pen as I watch the escort rummage around the near empty bowl, filled only with my slips.

"Get on with it" I yell and there is a small chuckle from the boy on the stage.

"Raine Dash" she calls and I head up to the stage, I should be acting more terrified I suppose but I think I'm in a state of shock, I shake the large boys hand, what was his name again, of yeah Cane.

After I say my goodbyes to Mom, Dad and Grandma, we are led to the trains, Willow stays beside me as Thom talks to Cane that's when I hear the shouting.

"What do you mean I'm not going" it's Whent.

"You're not authorised to travel to the capitol sir" replies one of the peacekeepers.

"whada ya mean" Whent yells "those kids need me ya idjit"

"You're not authorised to travel" the peacekeeper repeats and I feel Willow grab my hand

"We need to get on the train" she tells me pushing me towards the open door, the door closes behind me and I find myself watching out of the window as Whent continues to argue as the train pulls away from the station.

"Guess it's just the two of us then" Willow says the Thom who stands beside Cane

"I guess it is then" he replies and I realise, my sister the victor is still the little terrified girl she always was.

* * *

**District twelve reapings Jay Hawthorne:**

I stand in the reaping pen surveying my competition, there are two victors in district twelve, the same number we've had for years and probably the most we'll ever be allowed to have again. Beside me in the reaping pens are four other boys, all brothers, all the grandsons of Quintinus Myro who stands on the stage beside my grandmother.

Rosie stands beside another girl and I gulp, what if we're both reaped, oh how the capitol will love it the sibling descendents of Primrose Hawthorne fighting it out in the arena just like their Grandma did and their sister and their aunts and uncles and their Great Aunt Katniss Everdeen.

They want to kill our family off in their games, one by one we'll go and one by one we'll die and I'm almost positive one of us will be going into the games today just as our Great Aunt did all those years ago.

Statistically my sister has more of a chance of going in she stands alongside Felis the granddaughter of Quintinus whilst I have all of Felis' brothers to contend with.

Our escort arrives on stage escorted by a peacekeeper who keeps his gun aimed into the crowd, they don't want another rebellion on their hands after all. The crowd is silent as our escort Mimi reaches into a bowl.

"oh how exciting another Hawthorne" she cries, I wince why didn't she say what bowl it was first "oh silly me" she chuckles "I never said, boys first; Jay Hawthorne come on up"

I sigh as I make my way up to the stage looking out at the crowd who just look back, I hear a peacekeepers gun cock somewhere and slowly they begin to clap as instructed, there will be no silent shows of protest today.

"Girls next" cries Mimi bounding over to the second bowl

"Felis Myro" I let out a sigh of release, Mother will have one more child at home tonight.

The butt of a rifle pushes me into the town hall, and I'm left waiting in a room, seconds later Grandma rushes into the room "Jay I'm so sorry love" she says placing my head in her hands and looking me in the eye "I do everything they ask of me yet they still take you all away, year after year" she is crying and my attempts at being brave fail me as I join her in weeping.

"It's not your fault Nana, its there's" I tell her

"Don't ever let them hear you say that" she scolds "it'll make it so much harder, in the end"

I nod because I know she expects me to die, they all do. "I'll see you on the train" I tell her and let her leave me.

Next comes in my family Mom, Dad, Rosie and little Peat, We cry together for a while and I promise to try my hardest to make the capitol love me, no easy feat that's for sure.

My next guest I never expected to see, my Aunt Sage slinks into the room looking very uncomfortable with being in such surroundings. I jump up to hug her.

"Hey Jay" she says, looking down at me,

"Hey" I reply "thanks for everything"

"It's our family way, we shoot things Jay and we always will, shoot them all okay my dear"

"I will Auntie" I reply knowing she doesn't mean the other children being forced into this show "I will" I promise as she is manhandled out of the room by peacekeepers.

* * *

**District twelve reapings Felis Myro:**

I watch as Jay Hawthorne walks up to stage and feel a moment of confidence, yes there are only two of us here but Rosie has to contend with the fact the capitol hate her family, the poor girls only twelve so probably wouldn't last a day in the games. But then again would I?

I watch intently as Mimi Felix steps over to the girls bowl, oh how she'd love me the woman is obsessed with cats, they are plastered all over her dress and I'm pretty sure that under her big hat she has some surgically attached ears.

"oh what a lovely name" she coons and my heart sinks "Felis Myro" I feel Rosie's body relax next to mine and I begin the slow walk up to the stage, the audience claps as instructed but nobody is happy nobody will ever be happy.

We are escorted into the town hall and my family all filter in behind me, Mom and Dad who are acting all lovey dovey for a change and my five brothers Nyx pushes past his older siblings and runs to hug me

"I'm scared Felis" he sobs,

"Don't be little bro" says my eldest brother "Felis is gonna win this thing right?"

"Sure I am" I reply, but could I, despite the fact I have zero skill with any weapons could I actually kill people if I knew what to do. I'm worried to discover the answer is yes, I would kill them just like everyone does in the games you kill or you die there's very rarely a compromise.

They all leave slowly till only Nyx remains "you have to go" I tell him "They will tell you off for staying" Nyx knows very well the brutality of the peacekeepers after they whipped our brother Jyax for arraigning that meeting, they were only discussing the new coal tax but there was more than ten of them so the whip came down.

"I'll go" Nyx tells me and I watch my little brother disappear from the room and my life. I'm just beginning to cry when grandpa comes in.

"Try not to cry when there are cameras Felis" he tells me and I nod wiping away my tears

"I don't think I can do this" I tell him, he doesn't disagree.

"you can only do you best little cat" he tells me, plus Mimi is already raving about you.

"so I'll be her little pet?"

"No you'll be all of their pet. Come on lets got to the train"

The train pulls away from my station and I watch my home disappear from sight. Jay is sat at the other end of the carriage deep in conversation with his grandmother. I'm not expecting an ally in him.

"Here this is for you, a token for the arena" Grandpa says passing me a thick chain on one end hangs a stone cross, it's very heavy and looks like its ancient.

"It's very pretty" I tell him looking down at the stone cross in my hands

"It's more than that" he whispers "It means so much more than that, keep it safe for me"

"I promise"

* * *

**Next up will be chariot rides.**


	5. Chariot rides

**President Rosa Snows POV**

I quite like this year's crop of tributes, we should have thought of this quell years ago, showcase the strength of the districts rather than the dregs of those who can barely afford to eat. I'm watching the reapings for a third time on my television waiting to be told that my seat is ready up front for the parade. I'm excited for tonight, another first in my presidency speaking to whole nation and knowing I have them in my grip is exhilarating.

"President Snow, you'll be needed on stage in five" my assistant informs me with a little bow as always. I like Cyan she's loyal like a dog almost, a little fluffy pink dog who reminds me where I have to be at all times. I make my way through the halls of the presidential mansion until I come out onto the balcony to the cheers of the crowd. An Avox appears beside me and hands me a microphone before bowing and vanishing.

"Let the parade of tributes begin" I announce and the doors at the far end of the avenue open up revealing the stunning sight of the district one carriage, I let myself sit down as I watch the show.

District one roll up first, their tributes adorned in spotless white jumpsuits layered with lace and gems to create two glimmering gems rolling down the avenue. The girl seems to be taking it all in her stride her long auburn hair hanging down her back and fluttering behind her in the breeze she waves to the crowd and blows them kisses. The boy is shorter than her by about half a foot and looks less interested in the crowd ah the silently deadly type, one of my personal favourites.

Behind them rolls the pair from two, the siblings. I was hoping for more pairs of siblings this games but these two will have to do, my advisors tell me the girl isn't quite mentally stable and likes to inflict pain on those smaller than her, I love her already. These two are also dressed alike and look very similar in build and appearance the only discernible difference between them being that the girl's hair remains long styled in a high pony tail in comparison to the male's shorter hair. Unusual for the stylists to cover up so much of the female tributes bodies I think, I wonder if there was a reason. The two of them are dressed in stiff metal outfits that look sharp and un-comfortable, but they take it in their stride waving to the crowd as they go.

Three causes me to laugh out loud and my crony's around me join in the laughter, their stylists appear to have discovered a neon glowing paint and have covered their tributes in it other than that the kids are wearing very little else just white underwear covered in the paint and capes also splattered you'd think their stylists have mistook the technology district for the decorator district. The tributes themselves are the usual pale skeletonally thin kids both with jet black hair and expressions of pure fear.

The male from four is playing the usual sun tanned sex hunk that the majority of their good looking tributes play and I have to say he's pulling it off quite well. His styled blonde hair is woven with seaweed and he is draped in a shimmery blue fabric holding a trident, I notice a tattoo on his right arm. The female looks less happy to be here; she watches the audience suspiciously and tries to deflect attention onto her partner, no small feat for the girl with shells in her hair an almost clear bikini top and a mermaid tail.

District five is up next the boy and girl both look similar with black hair and pale skin, but the girl has freckles. Their stylists have dressed them identical also with tight silver pants and a silver tunic which seem to be covered in writing.

"What do they say?" I ask my assistant who taps away on her pad, "it's supposed to be mathematical equations to show the districts .." I wave my hand signalling her to shut up,

"I get it" I tell her turning back to the parade.

I let a little yawn seep out as district six rolls into view, their tributes are nothing overly exciting although I do hear they are cousin so maybe there could be a little more family drama for the audience. I'm not even sure what the stylists were going for her something inspired by trains perhaps both tributes wear driver hats and blue outfits striped with rails.

I notice the trees from seven pretty quickly, even after one hundred and fifty years this is the best the stylists can come up with, I should fire the lot of them and start again. Both tributes are quite small and almost buried by the pile of leaves that have been glued to them although I do notice the girl has interesting light green eyes.

District eight both look rather pathetic too with their pale skin and fearful expressions, the girl has short red hair which looks cute but the boy is positively boring looking. They've both been dressed in various materials layered together the boy in a suit and the girl in a dress.

District nine's tributes make me smile, the ashen haired boy is positively chubby for a district kid at least but he grins and waves to the capitol who wave back. The female has an ashen skin tone and long silky black hair, she seems to be acting as if she is too good for all this pageantry a uncommon reaction for one of her district. Their costumes are so dull I barely notice them.

The pair from ten are very good looking the girl grins to the crowd, her curly hair hanging to just bellow her shoulders she waves and blows kisses to the crowd dressed in a short checker dress with a cowboy hat perched on her head. The male is taller than her by a few inches he is a good strong build very intimidating and strong looking, he could be a contender. His shirt is the same material as the girls dress but he's wearing plain blue jeans with it.

Next down the avenue is district eleven the female tribute is dressed as a flower orange petals surrounding her face and covering up her hair, her tanned skin is covered in vines and she waves nervously to the crowd. The male is large and brutish looking, with dark skin that is typical of eleven he is covered in the vines that also adorn the girl but was spared the petals.

Ah finally come twelve something always makes me smile when I see their sad resigned faces heading to their doom, they brought it on themselves though they all did. Dressed in miners jumpsuits the female is rather dull she has what I believe they call the seam look as does the male but his name is the only one that interests me another Hawthorne one of Primroses grandkids oh I can't wait for his end to come they're always particularly gruesome.

The chariots all surround my balcony view point and I allow the crowd to calm down "welcome one and all" I announce, my voice being carried by the microphone in my hand "it is an honour to welcome you tributes to our wondrous capitol, may you're time here be inspiring as you prepare for the games. The one hundred and fiftieth games are here." again the crowd cheers as the chariots make their way to the training centre, where tomorrow the tributes will wake up good and early for their first day of training.

My dinner that night will be a grand affair so I decide to take some time to relax before getting ready, I'm just about to lay down on my couch for a moment when there is a light tap at my door,

"enter" I sigh, this better be important the door creaks open and in steps Syrio my head Gamemaker, he's a creepy slime ball if I say so myself but his games are entertaining year after year and I've had no reason to doubt him.

"How may I help you Syrio" I ask as he slides into my room, his hands clasped together by his chest

"I'm afraid it's about the budget madam president" he replies "to put it bluntly madam we need more"

"But I already authorised two more increases, where are we supposed to get the money"

"I'm sorry madam but the games require it, I promise they will be spectacular though"

I sigh and wave a hand in the air, "take what you need tell the treasury to reduce the amount of tesserae grain in the districts if needed"

"oh vourse madam" he answers and with a little bow leaves me alone

I look at the clock on the wall and see my relaxing time is over, any moment now Cyan will appear with her timetable and a team of my stylists to prepare me for this evening, as I sit on my couch to rest my heels for a moment there is another knock on the door ah here they are on time as usual.

"Enter"


	6. Training One

**Training Day One, Morning:**

**District nine's Allyson Mala's POV**

I have a plan, it's not exactly fool proof but I can see it working and all I'll need is my winning personality to pull it off. As I eat breakfast the first day of training I only half listen to my Moms advice which seems to include but isn't limited to staying out of the way of the career kids and sticking to the survival stations. Sometimes I don't think she even knows me one bit.

Once I take the elevator down to the training floor with Gadish I make a point of avoiding him and find some other tributes to stand beside. There is plenty of nervous action and a little whispering chatter between the pair from One and the boy from four, getting their alliance sorted early I see, well two can play at that game.

"I'm Ally" I offer to the large built black boy stood next to me, I stick my hand out.

He takes it and gives it a little shake "Cane"

"Nice to meet you Cane" I say as the head trainer takes the stand.

"Tributes" he states commanding the attention of every person in the room "in around a month's time twenty three of you will be dead. If you are one of those dead depends on how much attention you pay over the next few days. There are four compulsory activities everything else is optional, you are free to go"

I look round the room deciding where to go first, most of my fellow tributes were doing the same while the kids from the career districts rush off to try out the shiny weapons. I stick to my plan of forming an alliance with the best kids from none career districts and notice the district twelve boy at the archery station, I wonder if he takes after his great Aunt.

"Good shot" I tell him as I walk over, he'd just struck a target in the heart, this was someone I defiantly wanted on my team.

"Thanks I suppose" he replies, loading the bow again and taking another shot, this one strikes the target in the stomach.

"Jay right?" I say trying to strike up conversation

"yeah"

"I'm Ally, District nine"

"Twelve"

"yeah I know"

"Is there a reason you're watching me Ally he sighs looking up at me

"Just scouting out members for my super awesome alliance"

"You keep doing that" he chuckles firing another arrow into the head of the target

"Think about it" I tell him moving over to where a line is forming by the climbing nets, I'll need to find someone who knows their way around trees I think looking over to where the district seven boy is weighing up axes in his hand. Perfect.

* * *

**District sevens Ewan Hawthorne's POV**

"You need to use the training time wisely" grandfather had said "don't waste time on stuff you already know"

But the axes were too tempting to me, sharp and deadly all lined up along metal racks, I pick one up and feel it in my hand then compare it to another, both are perfectly weighted all I need to do is focus and I should be able to throw these easily. I wonder what sound an axe makes hitting a person, is it much like a tree?

"You just gonna look at them or do you want to throw?" the trainer asks me with a bored look, I put one down and carry the other over to the throwing station, "go ahead then kid" the trainer says watching me closely I line myself up and focus on the target, don't get distracted.

A deep breath and a strong swing later I watch the axe smash into the target striking the man shaped target straight in the neck.

"Good shot" says a voice from behind me that isn't that of the trainer who is showing the girl from six how to aim her small axe.

I turn around to come face to face the boy from one who's holding another axe in his hand, "Thanks" I reply unsure of what else to say, he laughs and goes to throw the axe his style is a little sloppy but his execution is near perfect and it slams into the head of a target.

"you're not too sloppy yourself" I reply and he smiles

"I like you kid" he says looking me up and down "get a good training score overall and I'll see what I can do for you, when the games come"

I nod understanding he's offering me a place in the careers , it's not unheard of for them to offer places to district seven recently but I just don't know if the whole idea is a little old.

"Sure I'll give it a think" I reply remaining positive looking, now is not the time to be making enemies.

* * *

**District two's Ursa Petronius' POV**

I watch him now that f-ing boy from district one talking to some rural district kid, I don't need more people in this alliance, part of me is wondering if I should blow off this whole career baloney and find my own group to betray later. Or heck just go solo, I could take them all on easy.

We make such a big deal out of securing alliances in training but in reality only one can come out its how it should always work and the whole system breaks down if more than one come out as evidenced in every history book ever.

But who would I put in my group, I look over the room as I queue up to practice with the throwing knives, it seems like they're a popular weapon this year they usually are with the girls looking for a way to get out of face to face combat. I see one of those types now the girl from three she's missing tremendously and it just makes me laugh.

Up next is the girl from four Adrian tells me her name is Miriam but she's not a proper career so I don't care. She takes three knives and hits the target twice, the trainer dismisses her request to keep trying and points to the back of the line. She slinks away from the targets and comes up behind me, please don't try and talk to me.

"Hello Ursa" damn it.

"Not interested in small talk" I growl and she shuts up.

I go back to surveying the room and see an older girl struggling to climb the ropes while the fat kid seems to be struggling to do anything. Over in the survival and camouflaging sections are a number of the little ones trying to hide from everyone else, one particularly catches my eye the girl from eight, her brother won last year with an impressive show with a sword he must have only picked up in training weeks before, she doesn't seem to have his blood lust though, stupid girl.

* * *

**District eight's Sisal Mallott's POV**

I continue to strike the flint and tinder together trying my best to get a flame, it's not working though and continuously failing is really annoying me.

"do I need to show you again?" asks the trainer, she seems nice enough but I know in a few days time she'll be cheering away with the rest of them as I'm slaughtered by one of the other people in this room, like the girl firing knives in the far corner or the big lad wrestling with a trainer in the centre of the room.

"yes please" I ask her and hold out the flint and steel that she takes off me and begins to strike them together creating the sparks that I could not.

"its the angle you see" she tells me "like this" I focus on her hands closely her nails are coated in a light green paint for some reason and studded in gems, what's the point I wonder.

"Can I try again miss?" I ask her and she passes me back the tool, I focus on my small pile of tinder and strike the device a few more times until woosh.

The dry grass catches fire quickly and the lady shows me how to add smaller sticks then larger ones to create a clean smoke free fire.

"You've got it love" she tells me "you want to move on to somewhere else?"

Maybe I should try knot tying, it will come in useful for catching food while in the arena, I look over to the station and see the big lad from four quickly neatly creating a net from a pile of rope while the instructor watches with keen eyes, maybe I'll leave that one till later.

"I think I'll try this a couple more times" I reply.

* * *

**District fours Gunnar Reef's POV**

I like the feel of the rope in my hands takes me back to weaving nets with Uncle Ulric by the fire in an evening and as much as I know he hates the games I'd rather he were here with me than mother. I don't know for sure where she is now but I'm almost positive it doesn't involve getting me sponsors.

I'm relying on the career alliance massively here to make sure I have plenty of supplies as little as I like those others especially the girl from two, Ursa she just stares at people like she's constantly weighing up the effort it would take to stab them to death and the boy from one with the ego the size of the moon just angers me further.

It's no matter though I'll train with my spear later and make sure I'll be the best of the best and come out of this thing alive.

As I contine to weave my rope Miriam comes up along side me and starts absent mindely fiddling with the ropes, she doesn't have the skilled fingers of a rope weaver but she knows what she's doing and successfully ties a few complicated ties.

"Gunnar can.." she begins "never mind" she mumbles

"no go one what do you want"

"we .. we're good right, you think I'm in with the others?"

"not really up to me. You need to impress them, it can't be a given that you're in because you're from four"

She nods "better get practicing then"

She disappears back off to the combat side of the room and I drop my completed net for the instructer.

"good" he nods the whiskers inserted in his cheeks are bobbling as he does so, as he inspects it closer his nose scrunching up as he does so creating an overall image of this serious looking rabbit. I fight the urge not to laugh.

"yh its near perfect" he tells me and I nod,

"Nice to meet you then sir" I say with a little bow, flattery never hurt anyone.

I turn around and scout out the room eventually deciding on the climbing nets.

* * *

**District five's Danny Allardyce's POV**

Auricula would be better at this I think as I force my body several feet of the floor on the nets; she was always climbing something or other. I can feel the eyes of the other tributes watching me struggle up the rope and it's not helping.

"come on kid" yells the voice of one of them "we've not got all day" I look down and see the boy from two waiting at the bottom, he is joined by the boy from four and the two continue to watch me. I force one of my feet out of the rope and up a level with all my strength I put my weight on the higher foot and grab a higher layer of rope with my hands I bring my second foot up to the same level as the other and start again.

One after the other I pull my body up the rope until I'm nearly at the top, I can see what my sister finds so exhilarating about climbing. The physical exercise mixed with the feeling of escaping you're situation, I just want to keep climbing till I escape this basement room and this tower and my death. But the rope runs out and I have to climb back down gripping onto the top and trying not to look down I swing my left leg over the top of the netting I pull my bodies weigh over the net and swing my right leg over to join the left.

Getting down is a little easier I have to keep looking down to check my feet are going in the right place but at least I'm moving a little faster now, one foot then the next, left right left right left right right.

"Agh" I scream as I twist my right ankle around a net hole and slip off the netting one foot remaining up in the air.

"stupid boy" comments one of the trainers and I can hear laughter from the two career boys I pull myself up off the floor and untwist my foot. This is not good, not good at all.

Luckily the bell rings for lunch time and I'm saved from the rest of this humiliation.

* * *

**AN: I'm going to try and find a faster way to get through training so I'm sorry if your tribute doesn't get a POV in the next few chapters but I'll make it up to them later in the games.**


	7. Training Two

**Sorry its took so long to update this, had a bit of a writer's block.**

* * *

**Day one of training, evening:**

**District eleven's Cane Wilkes POV:**

"So?" asks Thorn "how's training been",

"Alright I suppose, not what I expected though"

Thorn nods in agreement as the door to Ranie's bedroom opened and she and her sister come out to join us at the dinner table. There is no sign of our escort.

We eat in an awkward silence four kids in a place they barely know being served by two voiceless slaves who are old enough to be any of our parents. It just feels wrong.

After the awkward meal Thorn and I head to my room where he sits on my bed and I lean on a dresser.

After a moment of silence I speak "I guess I won't be getting Raine as an ally then"

"Do you want her?"

"No"

"Good, if you're so hell bent on this alliance thing then I'd say find your own, not the careers mind you"

I nod "wasn't even thinking of them, just feel like I'll need someone to watch my back out there"

"Or to stab it" Thorn replies morbidly

"I might get the opportunity to first you know"

"You might" he sighs, "got any ideas who then"

I shake my head "not yet, but I'll work on it tomorrow"

* * *

**District ten's Tiffany Royce's POV **

"She wants to do what?" I ask Aunt Corona

"Allyson Mala wants you for her alliance" she repeats, "her Mother tells me she requested you yesterday evening"

"Just me?"

"No there were a few names I believe"

"But I'm a career; I've trained my whole life for this"

"Look, I've heard nothing from Nero or Bastion so I don't think they've noticed you yet"

"Then I need to make them notice me" I tell her "I need to get into the careers"

* * *

**District nine's Gadish Blackwood's POV**

They're talking about her again, about Allyson my fellow tribute, she's been requesting alliances from tributes from all districts even a career one.

"I want to get this right" she tells Mrs Mala and Kasha "and I think this is the best way to do it"

"I'm not sure" Mrs Mala replies

"I agree" says my sister "You'll be too venerable with such a large group around you"

"I can lull them into a sense of security though" she tells them "make their deaths look like accidents"

Kasha shakes her head "I don't think they'll fall for it"

"But you have been requesting the alliances though?" Ally asks turning to her mom.

"Yes I have dear, but nobody has replied yet. I just think its a waste of time"

The discussion continues and continues with the three of them discussing the various tributes and how useful or not they'll be in an alliance with Ally. Eventually I just leave to go to bed. I lay in the large plush bed looking up at the ceiling I realise they haven't mentioned my strategy once. Not that I have one beyond not dying.

* * *

**Day two training: **

**District sixes Libya Mason:**

I kept to myself over the first day of training and I planned on doing the same throughout. No attachments, attachments get you killed. Grandma has been busy with the both of us, I can see she's trying to be equal but we don't really know the boy, my cousin. His mom cut herself off once she got pregnant to avoid the gaze of the capitol on her new family and I don't say I blame her, I've dreamt of doing the same thing many times over.

As we are dismissed from the mornings 'twenty three of you will die' pep talk I decide to focus on the survival stations today, without an alliance I'll need all the knowledge of how to fight and survive without any help.

The wild life station is mostly empty bar the boy from three who was listening intently to the instructor as he discussed the ways to identify a poisonous snake.

"Firstly the head is a good place to start" he explains "Snakes with triangular shaped heads are 80% more likely to be poisonous, and then the colours, bright snakes are more likely to be poisonous. Then there's the eyes" he smiles, enjoying this far too much "if it stares back at you with cat eyes then it's gonna be a poisonous one, then again" he chuckles "if you can see into its eyes it's probably too late for you anyway"

"Keep away from snakes" the boy mumbles nodding his head, poor kid probably won't make it too much further than the cornucopia; I can't see him meeting a single snake there.

"What kind of stuff do you want to know?" the instructor asks facing me,

"What kind of creatures will be in the arena" I answer and he chuckles again

"Can't tell you that sunshine, where's the sportsmanship there" he rummages through a pile of papers on the table, "Could tell you all about the poisonous Franca spider though"

"No thanks" I reply as the boy from three nod and squeaks

"Yes please"

I turn away from the table and head towards the camouflage base, maybe the materials there will give me a clue to the arena.

In front of the bored looking instructor is a selection of camouflage materials, mud, berries and fire ash. I get to work using the ash on my face, using it to cover my pink skin while avoiding my mouth and eyes.

"Not bad" mumbles the instructor when I was done pointing to a mucky bowl of water that he expected me to wash my face in.

"I'll go wash it off in the bathroom thanks" I reply and walk across the hall, looking around me as I go. Nothing here seems to give an indication of the arena, maybe it will just be your average forest arena but this is a quell year so nothing is certain.

* * *

**District one's Aries Darthrush:**

Training in the capitol isn't so different from training at home, there's still just as impressive array of weaponry the same man shaped dummies to attack with my sword and the same instructors praising my work.

"Your father trained you well boy" one of the instructors tells me "I'm a big fan of his"

"Thank you sir" I reply "he often says how proud he is to have people in the capitol who admire him"

"He's a skilled warrior and I can see you take after him greatly"

"Thank you" I reply with a little bow returning my sword to the stand "I believe I'm needed over on the climbing frame" I tell him as he nods and turns to yell at the boy from nine who's waving a sword around his head with no style.

Over in the line for the climbing frame I join with Adrian my fellow career from two, he seems a good lad, very skilled but no confidence in himself. Probably due to that horrible sister of his, I can see her no over the other side of the room openly laughing as a girl falls off the running gauntlet.

"I've not seen you over in the sword area yet" I tell him "you should get some practice in before the sessions"

"Not a sword fan" he tells me "Dad always trained the two of us with more obscure weapons"

"Like what"

He shrugs "Ursa is a fan of the flail, I've always trained with maces or glaive's"

"Sweet" I reply "make my trusted long sword seem dull be comparison why don't you"

"Simple things are good too" he tells me as he's called up for his turn on the climber. He pulls himself up and over quickly and the instructor makes some notes before waving me over next. It's a simple enough climb although I usually find my large frame not as flexible as some of the smaller kids at the training centre but I've put the practice in and it shows.

I jump down and the instructor writes something on the sheet and beckons the next tribute to have a go.

"Anyway where's your fellow tribute?" Adrian asks me

"Still lining up for knife throwing" I say looking over to where she now stands tapping her foot in frustration.

* * *

**District one's Pheonix Starr:**

How am I supposed to get any decent practice done when I'm stuck spending so much time waiting in lines to use my knives, I want to get a feel for all they types they have here before the arena.

"Next" calls the instructor and the girl from five who is stood in front of me steps up.

"Take your knives" he tells the girl who takes a handful and places them in the holder, she lines up facing the board and throws her first knife, not bad, it hits the target in the shoulder. It wouldn't kill them but it'd hurt enough to slow them down. With her second knife though she misses, I remember my training by now her opponent would have recovered from the shock and the pain of the first knife and would be able to run, either away or towards their attacker. The girl's third knife strikes the target in the chest just below where the heart would be. This is a good shot but too late with her final knife she also misses the dummy and she steps to one side before joining the back of the line again. Great now I have to watch her throw again, how fun.

It's finally my go and I take three knives from the instructor, the first hits the targets neck, the second the forehead and the third the heart.

"Perfect shots" comments the instructor "are you sure you don't want to try a different station"

"No" I reply and line back up behind the girl from five to await my turn again, my knives are all I'll need to win this games.

* * *

**District three's Linnie Graphin:**

So weaponry wasn't for me, my disastrous show on the throwing knife and sword stations is proof enough of that. I've also had a quick go at the archery but some of us weren't born to it like Jay Hawthorne.

I guess I'll have to rely on my brains now, figure out ways to survive and hope for an industrial based arena that I can use to my advantage like uncle Magnet. I know plenty about electrical currents and wiring from school but there is no where here to practice that or show it off during the private sessions hence district threes constant low scores. Even Magnet only got a three in training; he tells me he just showed off a few survival skills to mostly keep under the career radar but what else could he have shown them.

I decide to stick to the survival stations then for the rest of the training time, starting off at fire making where a trainer is sitting alone with no tributes to teach.

"Ah hello there" she smiles at me all together to nicely "you want to go over fire lighting?"

"Sure" I reply as she passes me a piece of stone and metal. "What's this?"

"Flint and tinder love, in case there aren't any matches"

"What about batteries" I ask her "all I'll need is a battery and wire wool"

She chuckles "I doubt you'll find any of them out there".

* * *

**A/N: The snake stuff (bar the percentage which I plucked from nowhere) and other survival knowledge is all true to the best of my knowledge. Source is google and 21 years of scout camps. Oh and I made up the name of the spider because there is no way in hell I'm searching for anything about spiders!**

**Also blatant self promotion, I've started a sequel to Life Death and Alligator Mutts so give it a look if you read and enjoyed that one. The links on my profile.**


	8. Training three

**A/N: This is a message to Lindsey, now I know you're probably trying to be helpful but I'll have you know that the president can indeed still be a Snow, She may not have married or maybe because she's the g-damn president (and Panem is no democracy) she forced her husband to take her name, I haven't fully decided. I don't know what your insinuating about my other 'mistake' but I made sure every character would work within the canon I created. (You can point out my cr*p spelling and poor grammar all you want, but when you insinuate that I don't know my Panem history then I get mad!)**

* * *

**Anyway sorry about that readers, back to the training:**

* * *

**Day three of training morning:**

* * *

**District twelve's Felis Myro's POV:**

I have to admit it to myself I'm feeling rather overlooked. All eyes are on Jay, will he repeat his families glory or their many failures. Whereas I I'm just another tribute with a victor grandparent everyone has forgotten years ago. Even between the other mentors the discussion will be on Primrose not Quintinus.

The old guy himself has been as useful as he can be, but it's been so many years since he won and he's not brought a tribute home yet. The games are still a death sentence for us district twelve kids and no amount of pep talks will convince me I'm going to do any better. Grandfather tells me I'm being morbid, that I need to have hope I can make it out of the arena but after all these years he's just fallen for the propaganda like the rest of them.

He tells me to make an alliance, but that's not going to happen either, why would I want to waste my time getting to know the person that will literally stab me in the back as I sleep. No there's only one person I can trust and that's myself. If it was one of my brothers with me not Jay then yes I suppose I'd be alliance with them, I'd probably even kill myself for them as they would for me, but that's family.

"Why are you just standing there?" it's the wonderful Jay Hawthorne, he comes up behind me as I stand gazing out of the window of our twelfth story apartment.

"I'm just thinking" I tell him trying to avoid his gaze

"About the games?"

"What else is there anymore?"

"Family, friends, home" he sighs gazing out of the window. We stand there for a moment in total silence each waiting for the other to say something profound. It never comes though.

"We should get to training" I say and Jay just nods in agreement before we head to the elevators.

* * *

**District ten's Virgil Irving's POV:**

The pair from twelve are the last to arrive and we are released for our final morning of training. I've been purposely avoiding the weapon stations until now but as this is my last chance I take a spear from the rack and begin to throw it at some targets. In short I suck, my aim is completely off and my throw wasn't strong enough; the spear lands several feet to the side of the target.

Looking around I'm glad to see that nobody was watching my spectacular failure and I take another spear, one more try with this one I think then I'll try another weapon. The spear in my hand I readjust my angle and stretch my arm back further than the first time, I fling the spear. This time it strikes the target in the leg. My stomach knots at the thought of one of those around me screaming in pain but I force myself out of it.

At the weights station I watch as the boy from one and the girl from two try to best each other on the distance they can throw these heavy metal balls.

"I'm twice as strong as you Dartrush" I over hear the girl snarl

The boy just chuckles "I'd like to see you prove it"

"Just wait till the arena One" she replies dropping a weight by his foot and storming off to the obscure weapons section which was unsurprisingly empty.

"You alright there mate" asks the boy from one, I gulp

"yh fine thanks, just you know training" I reply

"Sounds like a good plan to me" he replies looking me over "watch out for that one out there, she's not quite right up here" he taps his head and turns to walk away, "oh and lift with your knees not your back" he calls over his shoulder.

I lift the weight and find it relatively easy; this can't be much harder that dragging the cattle around at home. Swinging the weight I spin around before launching it into the air where it clangs onto the floor a good few feet in front of me. I throw a few more, each one getting further and further away until my arms are aching. To be honest I don't know how much good this will do me but it felt good; just as if I was throwing all my problems away with those weights. I guess at least I've found a skill I can show the Gamemakers this afternoon.

"Can you show me how you do that?" the voice of a boy asks me, I turn around to see the fat boy from nine behind me, for a change he's not chewing on anything.

"You want to throw?"

The boy shrugs "I'm not good at anything else I've tried"

I know I should turn him down, one less opponent to worry about, but there's something about him. I don't think I'd call it innocence, he's too old for that but he has a kind of lost quality, like nobody else wants him. Like the runt of the litter, the weakest animal that I used to always try and save when everyone else had given up.

I never had a good track record with the runts of the litter but maybe this kid could be the one. Anyway I've seen the way he eats; together we could gather a good amount of food to survive. I smile at the thought that I could have this kid as an ally, he wouldn't be a threat to me that's for sure.

"Sure I'll help you" I reply "if you help me too"

"Of course" he replies.

* * *

**District seven's Ayla Bane's POV:**

The axes would seem like a sensible if not obvious option as a suitable weapon for me to use in the games. Although I'm a little out of practice, works been harder to find lately especially after the trend for wooden furniture in the capitol died out a few months back. Ewan is over at the axe station now, expertly firing one after another into the targets before him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" he mumbles and I look away

"Sorry Ewan" I reply turning away, maybe I can spend one of my last days on this earth tying more knots or something.

"No wait" he shouts and I turn and walk back towards him

"What?"

"Can you throw?" he holds out an axe handle first and I take it from him

"Not really, but I used to have an alright swing" I reply

"We could get you a practice dummy; from the sword station"

I shake my head "no thanks, I'm going off the idea. I might go tie some knots."

"Be safe out there"

"you too" he replies and i decide that if I can't win I want him to.

* * *

**District eleven's Raine Dash's POV:**

Lunch was almost here and I needed to have my skills perfect for the gamemakers this afternoon. I'd gotten a hang of most of the survival stations and I'd completed all the agility courses to varying success. The only thing I was really missing is a weapon, running and hiding is one thing, actually fighting for my life seems a lot more daunting.

Throwing knives seem a popular choice but I don't have time to line up and wait for a couple of turns, I head over to the obscure weapon section where the scary girl from two is flinging around a spiked ball on a chain, puncturing the many dummies that surround her.

"What's your weapon kid" asks the instructor. The imposing man towers over me and has deep black skin and orange hair, I also notice he has a few gold teeth.

"I .. er... I want a knife" I stutter

The man laughs, "I'll show you something better than _a knife_" he reaches to a display filled with impressive weaponry and passes me over two blades, each attached to a leather strap which he ties around my wrists. He threaded my fingers into holes in the blade and fiddles with it until they are attached to me. "Try them" he tells me stepping back.

I step up to a dummy and thrust one fist into it before spinning around and slicing it with the other knife. If the dummy were a person I'd have just killed it.

"Not bad for an outer district kid" he tells me "try it again, but this time swing back a third time and hit it here" he points to the heart shape on the target.

I nod and try again, thrust, spin, slice, spin stab.

"Again" he calls and I do it again and again and again until my body becomes sore and the training dummy is full of holes.

I turn to the instructor who's nodding towards me "show us that this afternoon and you've got yourself a good score" The bell rings for lunch and I place my knives back in the holder.

"Thank you sir" I tell the man before rushing to eat some food, at least I won't be called in till near the end so I can work over my routine in my head.

* * *

**Sorry that everyone didn't get a POV but I made sure to mention each tribute at least once. Next up will be the interviews, with a twist :)**


	9. Interviews one

**Muhahaha I bet you want to know what the twist is; well read and you'll find out =D**

* * *

"Its eight pm capitol time and it's time for the event you've all been looking forward too. The tribute interviews, with your host; Nina Ricci"

The voice of Nina swings into the stadium as she introduces herself to the crowd. Bouncing on the stage the leggy red-haired woman gives a little bow to the crowd. "I'm excited to be here" she calls to the crowd "Are you excited to be here?"

The crowd naturally cheers in a positive manner for a short while, once the final voice dies down Nina waltzes around the stage to the door where the tributes are lined up behind. Twenty four dressed up, clean and nervous tributes ready to be thrown to the lions.

"Then ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you our first tribute Phoenix Starr"

The crowd cheers as Phoenix walks onto the stage she's wearing a short little gold dress and heels and looks very grateful to be able to sit down.

"Hello there Phoenix" Smiles Nina and Phoenix returns the smile

"Hello Nina, it's a pleasure to meet you"

"And you my dear. Now tell me, how do you think your session with the Gamemakers went?"

"Good, I showed off my skills with throwing knives, hit the target every time"

"You did indeed do well with your score of.." Nina pauses for a moment drawing out the tension of the moment "Ten"

The crowd clap at this score, it's the first time they or the tributes have heard the score. The secret system of individual sessions and secretive scoring was wiped out long ago to discourage the tributes from making any kind of 'statement'.

Phoenix nods "yes I'm happy with that"

"it's a very impressive score, now Phoenix, tell me about your mentor"

"My mentor is my Aunt, I find her a great inspiration to me. She went into the games and won and I know I can do the same"

"How do you plan on winning then?"

"My throwing knives, I'll have a good support of my fellow careers to help me through"

"You've been accepted into the career pack then?"

"Naturally" she smiles at the crowd and flutters her eyelashes. _Someone has to play the sexy card _she thinks_ and I can't see Ursa doing it._

A buzzer sounds to signal that the two minutes are up and Phoenix does a little curtsey before rushing off stage into the arms of her waiting Auntie.

"You did perfect dear" she smiles at her young charge, "they love you".

Aries Dartrush, bounces up and down on the spot, as he hears his name being called by Nina. "Here goes nothing" he mumbles to himself as he steps onto stage, plastering on a grin.

"Mr Dartrush, how suave you look" Nina cries, wrapping one arm around the boy while the crowd cheer. _'They love me' _he thinks.

The two of them take a seat and Aries smiles out to the crowd, winking towards a few of the less strange looking women.

"The capitol women seem to have taken a shine to you Aries" laughs Nina

"As I've taken a shine to them, especially you Miss Ricci" he leans over and kisses Nina's hand and she swoons.

"Another time maybe" she replies with a flirtatious wink and the crowd laugh and cheer loving every second of it.

"Now serious talk Aries, how do you think you did in the sessions yesterday"

Aries leans forward and grins "I think I did excellently Nina"

"That you did, you got an eleven Mr Dartrush"

Aries grins "Dad only got a ten"

"That he did" chuckles Nina "you're going to match his victory then"

"Of course, I bet I can do it faster too" he replies. As the buzzer sounds signalling the end of his interview. The Audience sigh wishing they had longer to listen to the boy talk about his father. Aries jumps off the chair and bows to the audience who are still screaming his name as he jumps down the stairs.

"How did I do dad?"

Bastion frowns, causing Aries' heart to sink. "You were a cheeky little sh*t to your old man" he growls at him before grinning, "They loved it though. Come on let's skip the rest of the show and go over a few more tactics before bed" he punches Aries lightly on the shoulder.

Back on the stage Nina has now been joined by Ursa Petronus, the imposing girl has a severe look on her face and Nina wants to get her interview over with quickly.

"How do you think you did in your session with the Gamemakers Ursa?" asks Nina.

"Perfectly" scoffs Ursa, "unlike some people I was ready for this. I'd even go so far to say I think I got a twelve"

The crowd gasp, no-one has got a twelve in years, the last being Nero Petronus 36 years ago.

"You're hoping to match your fathers success then?"

"Of course."

"What about your brother?"

Ursa laughs, it's a cruel sound, and something more associated with the villain from a movie than a sixteen year old girl. "I'll keep him around to near the end. You know for old times' sake".

"Well Ursa, what if I said you got an eleven?" Nina replies.

Ursa scowls "I'd say the Gamemakers mustn't have been watching as I beheaded those two dummies with my flail before showing off my skills of climbing, weight lifting and agility."

"You'll use these skills to win the games then"

"Obviously, I was born to do this and I'm not afraid to play a little dirty,"

The buzzer sounds and Nina feels a wave of relief as Ursa storms off the stage towards her father who nods approvingly.

Adrian had heard the whole interview with his sister and wanted to make a different impression, he made sure he had a wide smile as he walked onto the stage and politely kissed Nina's hand.

"What a gentleman" she sighs, gesturing for him to take a seat.

"Thank you" he replies with a soft smile "my mother taught me to always respect a beautiful lady"

"What did your father teach you?" Nina touches a sore spot and Adrian's smile drops.

"To fight" he answers simply "that's what he taught both of us" Adrian's eyes have hardened and Nina worries that he may turn into a male version of his sister.

"What score do you think you got?" she asks the boy, trying to turn conversation away from Nero Petronius and his interesting parenting style.

"Hopefully a ten or eleven" he answers, relaxing a little "I showed off my skills with a spiked mace a particular favourite of mine"

"A favourite of the Gamemakers too I believe, they gave you an eleven"

Adrian grins, it was more than he was hoping for and brings him level with his sister for the first time in his life.

"Now Adrian, tell us what's it going to be like to have your sister in the games with you" Nina doesn't want to bring the horrible girl up but it's one of the questions she has to ask him, as the only siblings in the games the people would be expecting her to ask them both about it.

Adrian's answer differs greatly from his sisters however "I suppose I'd have to treat her like every other opponent" he answers thoughtfully "I know her skills but I also know her weaknesses. I'm going to hope that it doesn't come down to the two of us"

"Thank you Adrian" Nina says as the buzzer goes, Adrian bows to the crowd and goes to find his father.

"He's gone back to the room with your sister kid" the male mentor from three tells him "guess he wants you to meet them there"

Adrian shakes his head _he probably can't wait for me to die out there _he thinks.

Linne nibbles her lips as she walks slowly onto stage, keep_ under the radar _she thinks _let them forget you exist_.

Nina watches the unimpressive nervous girl wobble onto stage and points her towards her seat as the crowd clap.

"Hello Linne" smiles Nina trying to put the girl at ease

"Hello" Linne squeaks back, the crowd chuckle only making her more nervous looking.

"That's a lovely dress your wearing" Nina tells the girl, fashion usually coaxes some of the girls out of their shells.

"It's yellow" mumbles Linne, keeping her eyes focused on the floor.

"It sure is" replies Nina with a grin, this is going to be a long couple of minutes.

"What did you show the Gamemakers Linne?"

"Not much" the girl sighs "some knots, plant stuff and I tried to light a fire"

"Tried to?"

"Yes, it didn't work."

"That's a shame"

"Yeah"

"The Gamemakers gave you a three, how do you feel about that?"

"Sad"

"Who's your mentor Linne?" Nina hopes that the girls Uncle would inspire her to say something useful.

"My Uncle Magnet. I only met him on the day of the quell announcement."

"Whys that?" asks Nina, no-one in the capitol knew that fact.

"My parents. They." She pauses deep in thought, or maybe just not thinking at all. "They didn't want me or my sisters meeting him."

How strange thinks Nina as the buzzer sounds, why would you hide a victor relative. Surely it's an honour to be related to someone so courageous.

Linne shuffles off the stage to a light applause, when she knows she's out of view of the cameras she lets herself smile, "how did I do?" she asks Magnet

"Well you said you wanted to be forgettable. You were certainly that"

"Good"

Chip comes onto stage with a smile and takes his seat next to Nina, "hello" he says with a grin.

"Hello Chip" she replies, perkily, she needs to cheer up the audience after Linne "tell us what did you show the Gamemakers yesterday"

"A little of this a little of that." He replies "I'm only little as you can tell, so I showed them I could fit in small spaces. I also learnt a lot about some of the creatures they could set on us in the arena."

"That's interesting" nods Nina "the Gamemakers must have thought so too as they gave you a four"

"A fours good right"

"Sure is"

"Awesome"

"Who's your mentor Chip?"

"My Mom, she won ages ago. I forget how"

"It was with poison Chip, she poisoned the water supply" Chip nods, he does know this mostly but it isn't ever mentioned at home. The buzzer sounds and Chip steps of stage and tries to prepare himself for in imminent death. No-one put any money on him to win that night.

Miriam Blackthrone is the next tribute on stage; she's wearing a cute sash with 'birthday girl' written on it in flashing lights.

"Happy Birthday Miriam" Nina exclaims "How old are you my dear?" She leads Miriam to the seat.

"Seventeen" she replies, her hair has been pulled and pinned back exposing her face, she's not happy with all this attention.

"How are you celebrating here in the Capitol."

"Well I suppose I'll have an early night, big day tomorrow after all"

Nina chuckles "it sure is Miriam. Back to business then, what do you think you got in your session with the Gamemakers?"

"Something good I hope, I'm fast, I'm sneaky and I've got a wicked aim"

"What's your weapon?"

"Throwing knives, I've got in a lot of practice recently"

"The Gamemakers gave you an eight" Miriam looks slightly deflated, the careers might not take her on with that score.

"Tell us about your mentor Miriam?"

Miriam's face hardens and her eyes begin to dart nervously around the stadium, she's desperately looking for a way out but she's stuck here, stuck answering Nina's question about her Grandfather.

"My grandfathers alright" she mumbles "he's old though"

"there are older mentors Miriam" Nina replies and your grandfather was very skilled in the arena"

_Yeah was_ "I suppose so, I hope to do him proud" _is that what we're supposed to be saying?_ The buzzer sounds and Miriam breathes a sigh of relief as she leaves the stage. She is equally relieved that her grandfather isn't here to meet her. She doesn't regret a single penny she stole from him, she does however regret getting caught.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it ended so suddenly I wanted to fit all the interviews onto one chapter but it's getting a little tedious to write and I wanted to get a chapter up before the end of the week. I've also begun writing up the games so once I force myself through the rest of the interviews the first couple of days of the games should come up quite quickly. **

**Oh and the twist was the score thing, born out of me wanting to get to the games faster. I think it worked don't you?**


	10. Interviews two

Gunnar Reef is another well built, blonde and tanned tribute from district four, and as per usual the crowd love him. He plays this angle well wearing an elaborate shirt made of fishing rope weaved together, it accentuates his muscles yet is rather uncomfortable.

"Why hello there Gunnar" purrs Nina in her most seductive voice, another tribute she can flirt with, excellent.

"Hello there Miss Ricci" he says with a little bow, another perfect gentlemen for the capitol women to swoon over.

"Oh Gunnar, its Nina of course" she says "Now please tell me what are you loving about the capitol?"

"Everything Nina" he smiles "the people, the food, the women" he winks to the audience and they shriek in glee.

"How'd you find the training?" Nina asks the boy

"Fine" he shrugs relaxing back in his chair "I've had a lot of practice with tridents and the like back home by the sea. So I think I gave the Gamemakers a good show"

"You sure did, they awarded you a ten"

"Brilliant" he grins, _just what I need to secure that career spot._

"Now then Gunnar, tell us about your mentor?"

Gunnar ponders this for a moment, "I love my Mom" this so much is true "she's really been an inspiration for me" half true "I want to make her proud and I know that winning the games will make her proud of me" Gunnar isn't sure if this is true or not.

"Thank you Gunnar" smiles Nina as Gunnar bows and leaves the stage; he is greeted by his mother. Mrs Reef holds a small metal flask of booze which she swigs before looking at her son. The muscular boy isn't the small child she used to chase around the house to get into a bath anymore; he's a career tribute now and a darn fine one at that.

"How did I do mom?" her boy looks down at her, an earnest look in his eye

"Meh" she grunts "I've seen better" she takes another swig and watches him storm back off to his room. _Don't die baby_ she thinks, _I'll kill myself if you do_.

Shadow is next up, she cautiously walks up the stairs and takes a seat next to Nina; "Hello there Shadow" smiles the host "how are you feeling about the games"

"Nervous" admits Shadow "but prepared as well" she notices her hands are shaking and forces them to stop.

"What are your skills then, what did you show the Gamemakers?"

Shadow gives a nervous smile "the throwing knives, I've been practicing with them all week." _And not really much else_ she thinks.

"Do you want to know your score then?"

"Yes please"

"A Six"

Shadow tries to keep smiling, despite her poor score; I _suppose I did miss a few times_ she thinks "I'm happy with that" she tells Nina.

"Tell us about your mentor then Shadow?"

"He's my dad" _and he hates himself and our family and the capitol and he takes it all out on mom_ "he's alright"

"Any other family?"

"Mom, brother, two sisters ones my twin" she smiles to the camera "hello Willow, miss you"

"Oh I bet it's lovely to have a twin sister, sharing secrets, talking about boys" she giggles

"Yes I suppose it is nice" Shadow doesn't think she's ever talked about boys with her sister; there are always more important topics, like dad.

"Thank you Shadow" Nina announces to the crowd and Shadow smiles before leaving the stage.

"Come one kid, let's get you in bed" her father tells her before leading the way back to their rooms, Shadow finds herself wishing they'd just re-done the quell for the seventy fifth games then her dad could be going to his death not her.

Danny Allardyce is ready for this, he'd spent the whole day talking to his aunt who, beyond her occasional tangent on the abundance of baby twins and triplets in the capitol, seemed intent on reminding him to play to his strengths without really specifying what they were.

Nina greets him as he takes the stage "Hello Danny please takes a seat"

"I feel like I'm at the doctors again" he mutters and the crowd chuckle,_ funny_ he thinks _I must be funny. _"Though none of them are as pretty as you Nina"

"Thank you my dear" Nina chuckles "Now tell me how did your training go?"

"Good yh" he replies "did a little of this a little of that, keeping my options open you know. Don't want to become a master swordsman to find an arena full of bows and arrows"

"So to use an old saying, you'd say you're a jack of all trades" quips Nina

"And a master of none" replies Danny just as she expected he would and as they both predicted the capitol chuckle again.

"So the Gamemakers gave you a five, what do you think of that as a score?" Nina asks,

"It's not a four I suppose"

"Not a six either" Nina says with a kind smile, but the comment stings. "You think it's gonna hinder you in the arena?" she continues.

"No not at all. I know what to do to spread my skills to help me win this"

"Indeed, now tell me Danny what's up with your Mentor?"

The audience laughs and Danny fights the urge to frown, "My Aunts awesome" he tells them with a chuckle "she's one of the smartest scientists we have in five, she may have been exposed to a one too many chemicals though" _then again most of us are, _he thinks_ everyone seems to die of something strange in five._

"She used chemicals to win her games didn't she?"

"Yeah" replies Danny, realizing how proud is of her for this, "she created poisonous gas bombs and sent them into the careers camp at the end of the games"

"A very clever tactic" adds Nina, "thank you for talking to us" .

Danny walks off the stage and meets his Aunt who is still staring behind him where Nina is introducing the next tribute. "Interesting eyes that Nina has" she mutters "I used to know a blind girl with the same colour in school".

Libya walks onto the sage calmly and confidently, _you are not a scared child_ she thinks _you are a fighter, you can do this._

"Hello there Libya" says Nina, "please take a seat"

Libya sits lightly on the chair not wanting to appear too relaxed, _I need to look like I'm ready to go at any minute_ she thinks.

"How did your individual session go yesterday?"

"Perfect really, showed the Gamemakers everything I could do to the best of my ability"

"They gave you a seven, how do you fell about that?"

Libya mulls this score over for a moment, it's not perfect but it'll do; "its good yeah I'm happy" she replies

"How are you planning on winning?"

"I want to be prepared for every situation my fellow contestants might throw at me, or the Gamemakers for that matter."

"Now Libya, are you going to struggle with your cousin also being in the arena with you?" Nina inquires.

Libya shakes her head "don't really know the kid, he seems alright thought, if I can't win I'd like him to, for Gran"

"Yes your Grandmother is your mentor right?"

"Yep mine and Tiberius', she's a tough old woman and I wouldn't change her for the world"

The buzzer sounds and Libya leaves the stage to wait with her grandmother as they watch Tiberius take the stage.

"Welcome Tiberius Ford" announces Nina as the boy walks onto stage and gives a little wave to the audience. _I must do this right_ he thinks _I must make them like me_.

"It's amazing to be here Nina" he says "the capitol is so exciting"

"You're enjoying your time here then"

"Oh of course, I spent most of last night watching the city from my window, it's so beautiful the way it lights up at sunset"

"Indeed, now may I ask how you found the individual sessions with the Gamemakers?"

"Good yh I suppose" he mumbles "I mean I swung a few weapons around with quite a good accuracy, and I'm pretty fast but it's hard to show that off in the small centre"

"We should put a running track in there" Nina chuckles and the crowd join in, Tiberius doesn't get the joke. "Well Tiberius" she continues "they gave you a six"

"One less than Libya" he comments

"Indeed, how do you feel about entering the games with her?"

"Sad I suppose, I wish we could have got to know each other in better circumstances. But as she said I'd like her to win if I can't for Grandma"

"You both think highly of your grandmother don't you?"

"She's a strong woman; she's a victor after all"

"That she is, good luck in the games Tiberius" Nina says as Tiberius leaves the stage with a little respectable bow to the audience.

"Good job Tiberius" says Libya as he joins the two of them

"You too Libya" he replies,

Their grandmother looks down at the two of them sadly "come one you two, one last night here in the capitol, let's make it a nice one for you" she says as they are led back to their rooms.

* * *

**Hi all I'm off on holiday for a couple of weeks now so you'll have to wait a bit for the next update, sorry that the interviews are going so slow I'm just finding them a bit difficult to write, at a guess it'll take me two more chapters. The games are coming along nicely though, already killed off four tributes.**


	11. Interviews three

**Hello all, so sorry this has took me so long to update, real life got in the way once I got back from holiday, in better news this is the last interview chapter – yay!**

* * *

Ayla Bane is shaking with nerves _I'm not ready for this_ she thinks _I'm not ready for any of this_.

"Hello there dear" smiles Nina, not exactly putting Ayla at ease but causing her to smile a little.

"Hi" she replies taking a seat at the edge of the chair.

"Ayla, tell us what is your favourite thing about the capitol?"

"urm" Ayla pauses for a moment looking down at the expectant faces of the audience "the people really, you're all so nice" she smiles

The crowd as expected cheers, they love it when a tribute compliments them after all. Ayla doesn't mind that the noise lasts a little while, it saves her from having to speak, any moment now she thinks I'm going to scream with fear.

"Tell us then dear" asks Nina once the crowd settle down, "what did you show the Gamemakers"

"Axe work I suppose, I've been working in the forests at home after school for a while now. I chopped at the dummies" she adds a small smile to the end of her sentence hoping that her pitiful attempt at showing off to the Gamemakers worked.

"You got a five, how do you feel about that?"

Ayla nibbles her bottom lip and looks at the floor "good I suppose, I mean I think that's a good score"

"It's pretty good Ayla, I'd never be able to get a five with an axe, I'd probably fall over on my heels trying" the crowd chuckles at this and Ayla allows herself to look up at them and smile slightly.

"That would be pretty embarrassing" she replies with a wide smile, enjoying the image of Nina falling over in her heels.

"Indeed" Smiles Nina, glad she brought the girl out of her shell; it is what they pay her for after all. "Now I have to ask you" she continues "tell the lovely audience about who your mentor is?"

"My uncle Rowan, he's my dad's brother"

"You get along"

"I suppose, I like my cousin he's sweet" Ayla changes the subject from her barely known Uncle.

"So you'll be fighting to get home and see him again"

"and my sister and parents of course"

"Of course" says Nina "thank you so much for talking to us"

"Thank you" smiles Ayla as she stands to leave the stage, she steps carefully down to where her uncle awaits.

"you did good kiddo" he tells her wrapping his arm around her shoulder "You're in the game still"

"Don't lie to me uncle Rowan" Ayla sighs struggling out of his embrace "I'm dead and we both know it" she sighs slightly before heading back up to her room, may as well make the most of her last night on this earth.

Ewan is the next tribute to step onto the stage, unaware of his district mates feeling of hopelessness he's ready for this, he even thinks he has a chance of victory.

"Hello there Nina" he says with a grin holding out his hand to shake it with the host, Nina obliges and leads him to his seat.

"Ewan such confidence, where do you get it from?"

"My Grandfather instilled it in me. He always taught me the power of a winning smile" Ewan smiles to the audience; it's not particularly a 'winning smile', as it's crooked and shows his nerve, the audience chuckle.

"Your Grandfather teach you how to throw an axe too, it was how he won his games after all"

"Well Grandfather taught my father who taught me so I suppose in some ways he did"

"I assume being a district seven boy you showed the Gamemakers your skill with an axe"

"No I used the camouflage station" he chuckles, Nina looks at him confused, as do the rest of the audience "Joking! Yes of course I used the axes" he laughs and the audience join in.

"Well a nines a pretty high score if you did use camouflage Ewan"

"A nine awesome!" Ewan literally punches the air

Nina smiles at him "how you planning on using this score to win"

"By killing everyone with my awesome axe" Ewan exclaims starting to bounce on his seat, _now the careers will have to take me_ he thinks, _I got more than the chick from four._

"Tell us more about your grandfather then" asks Nina, trying to slow down the pace of the interview.

"He's a legend" Ewan grins "he's not only a brilliant deadly victor but a brilliant kind man as well" he pauses and takes a breath before continuing "he took me in after my parents died after all" this is hard for him to admit out-loud, he still dreams they are only away on a visit to another district or something. Not helping is the fact the audience are now awing as if he were a small child.

Ewan composes himself and plasters back on his grin "I've moved past that horrid day though" the call the head teacher's office, the awkward silence as he waited for his grandfather to take him home.

"Ewan?" Nina asks as Ewan realises he's spaced out again

"Oh sorry" he says "I do that sometimes"

"Ewan Hawthorne everybody" yells Nina and Ewan takes a bow and leaves the stage.

"Why did I mention them" he scolds himself out loud as he meets his grandfather "now I look weak"

Sisal Mallot has been balancing on the tips of her toes trying to see the other interviews happening up on the stage, _be brave_ she thinks as she walks onto the stage.

"Hello Sisal" says Nina as she points the girl to her seat, "Tell us what special skill did you show the Gamemakers"

"Survival stuff mostly, I can light good fires now. But I also practiced with a slingshot"

"You got a good aim?"

"Mostly, though one time I did hit the instructor" she blushes "it wasn't very hard though, he's okay now"

"You got a three for your efforts" Nina tells the girl

"That's pretty low" Sisal mumbles, blinking away tears,

"That's pretty high for a twelve year old" Nina tells her before moving onto her usual next topic hoping to cheer the girl up "Who's your mentor?"

"Twine Mallot, he's my brother"

"Our most recent victor of course, he gave us an amazing display last year with his enthralling take down of the tribute from four, did he ever pass on his secret to you"

"All my brother ever told me is that all he had to do was think on his feet" she replies avoiding looking to the audience.

"and is that what you're going to do? Think on your feet"

"Yeah"

"Sisal Mallot everybody" yells Nina shocking Sisal who didn't realise her time was almost up, as the crowd applaud her she runs down the stairs and into her big brothers arms.

Fuller Manchester is next up, he walks slowly onto the stage a frown on his face, he remembers the advice his mother gave him to be excited and confident and has decided to ignore her advice and act distant and mysterious instead.

He keeps quiet as Nina shows him to the seat and looks at her a moment, calmly waiting for her to speak.

"How how are you Fuller?" she asks confused at the boy's calm gaze,

"Ready" he answers simply continuing to stare at her.

Nina shuffles in her seat and forces a smile "What makes you say that, what skills have you picked up training?"

"Lots"

"Any in particular you'd like to share" Nina probes

"swords"

"Is that what you showed the Gamemakers?"

"Yes"

"Well they gave you a four, how do you feel about that?" Nina hopes that the low score will bring out some emotion in the boy.

Fuller scrunches up his nose in annoyance but shrugs towards the audience "I can still win" he states, the most words he's spoken at once during the interview.

"Such confidence" Smiles Nina "I don't think it's been done before"

"So" Fuller shrugs, Nina moves swiftly onto the next set of questions, trying to force interesting answers from him.

"Your mothers your mentor right?"

"Right"

"Please tell us how you feel about her?"

Another shrug "she's my mom"

"Do you get on, argue, how has she prepared you for these games?" Nina is getting desperate now, sure sometimes tributes can be silent and deadly but this kid is not big enough to pull that off.

"She didn't" he pauses and Nina doesn't ask another question just stares at him for a moment,_ fine_ he thinks _if they want something to remember me by I'll give them it_. "She trained my brother though, they all did and when my name was called he just stood there and said nothing. So no my mom didn't train me and I don't want her to. I can do this on my own".

With that Fullers buzzer sounds and he storms off the stage annoyed that the stupid host forced him into breaking his silence.

Allyson Mala bounds onto stage and like the little rebel she is takes a seat without waiting to be shown to it properly, the audience are still in shock from Fullers dramatic departure from the stage so applaud her with more caution than previous tributes, it doesn't faze Ally though who waves enthusiastically to the crowd.

"You're keen" chuckles Nina "you ready for the games"

"Course, can't wait to get them over with and get myself home" Ally shuffles restlessly in her seat and begins to bounce a little.

"You got a special someone waiting for you?"Nina purrs, _the girls always have someone_ she thinks.

"Hell no" laughs Ally, "just a group of cool people who promised me they'd save me a beer"

Nina is taken aback "Arn't you a little young to be drinking at eighteen?" she inquires

"Not in nine I'm not, we gotta know if our stuff is good enough to send to you guys obviously"

"Obviously" Nina isn't too sure, someone will have to look into that in Nine, "Now I hope you didn't show up to your private session drunk" she chuckles

"Why the hell would I do that, I want to get a good score after all" Ally is shocked at the stupid question. Then again the capitol has always been full of stupid people, most of them wouldn't even know how their beer is brewed.

"Of course" returns Nina, trying to regain her composure as the girl is irritating her a little now "What did you show the Gamemakers"

"Bit of this bit of that, threw knives mostly but then I told them my plan" she smirks

"Which is?" Nina leans towards her

"Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it" Ally leans back in her chair and laughs.

"Well they must have liked it, you got an eight"

"Sweet"

"Now tell us about your mentor?" asks Nina

"she's my mom and well she's the most mom like mom you'll ever meet"

"You two don't get on then?"

"Well she's a victor and I respect her for that but no we don't get on that well"

"Well I've met her a few times and I'm sure the audience would agree that the two of you do have some similarities"

"Grrr" growls Ally "if one more person tells me how similar we look I think I'll scream"

Nina laughs "well if you win you'll be able to do something about that"

"I suppose I will" Ally replies

"Thank you Allyson" says Nina as Allys Buzzer goes.

"We're not that similar looking are we?" asks her Mom as Ally steps off the stage

"God I hope not" she groans in reply, _though I could do with your ability to win the games Mom_ she thinks.

Gadish Blackwood is the next tribute on stage, he looks larger than he was even a few days ago before the training. He is slightly out of breath as he takes a seat by Nina.

"So Gadish how are you finding the capitol?"

"Amazing" replies Gadish his eyes lighting up "I mean have you seen the food here"

"Yeah it is pretty impressive right, all thanks to you guys in the districts who help provide it" the audience applaud at this as they are conditioned to do, the system depends on it. "What skills did you show the Gamemakers Gadish?" she asks.

Gadish looks at her annoyed, he wanted to keep talking about food "grain types and other food sources I'll be able to identify" he skips mentioning the part where he tried to pick up some heavy weights before almost dropping them on his feet.

"The Gamemakers gave you a three for your efforts, how do you feel about that"

"Good yeah, I mean It's not like I'm supper skilled at all the weapon stuff though"

"So your strategy is to survive, live off the land?"

"Yeah, I'm good at that." He replies, after all before his sister pulled them all into the high life of victors they were no different to any other family in nine.

"Tell us about your mentor"

"She's my sister and well she managed to win the games"

"That's usually part of the job description" laughs Nina and the audience join her,

Gadish smiles "Yes I suppose it is."

"Gadish Blackwood everybody" calls Nina as Gadish leaves the stage, his sister pokes him in the belly as he comes down to meet her.

"At least you're not going to waste away out there Gad, who knows you might come back after all"

Tiffany Royce strides onto stage with a confident walk, she's watched her aunts interview hundreds of times and knows exactly what she needs to say to get the support of the Capitol.

"Tiffany it's so rare for a district ten tribute to volunteer, I don't think it's happened in at least fifty years. Why did you decide to volunteer?" Asks Nina straight away, skipping the usual pleasantries.

"Because did you see the kid that got reaped" Tiffany laughs "I mean seriously she wouldn't have lasted two minutes out there. I know I can win this though"

"How do you plan on winning?"

"Skill" she smirks "and whatever weapon I can get my hands on" _confidence never hurt anybody_.

"What weapon did you show off to the Gamemakers?"

"A spear, I showed them it as a close range and long range weapon, it's very versatile like that" Tiffany remembers the expert skill she wielded her weapon with surely she was good enough to get a ten.

"The Gamemakers awarded you ... An eight, how do you feel about that"

"Good I suppose" she replies "Was looking for a bit higher though" other careers got higher than that, she'd be at the bottom of them now.

"How do you plan on winning?" Asks Nina.

"bide my time" Answers Tiffany not wanting to reveal her desperation to join the careers "I'll get my butt out of the way in the bloodbath and then take down my competition over time not wearing myself out too much, that's how my Aunt won."

"It is indeed, you're very much inspired by her then?"

"Yes, she's such a wonderful woman and a strong victor"

"Thank you Tiffany" answers Nina and Tiffany leaves the stage.

"I hope I made you proud" she tells her Aunt

"Tiffany, you will always make me proud and your family too, now let's go over some final tactics before I go to the career pack meeting" Corona replies, Tiffany grins at this in only a few hours time her place in the careers will be safe.

Virgil Irving has a solid smile on as he walks onto the stage, he's aware that the audience are becoming restless as the interviews are beginning to drag. _I know I'm not the most memorable person _he ponders _but if I could just show them I'm not to be discounted then I'll be happy._

"Welcome Virgil" Smiles Nina showing the boy to his seat, Virgil sits down and looks out towards the audience, he feels his eyes glaze over in fear .

"Hello" he replies eventually "thanks for having me I suppose"

"It's our pleasure of course" replies Nina "Tell us Virgil how did your private session go?"

"Good yeah, I managed to show off some of the stuff I learnt this week"

"You must be a fast learner then the Gamemakers gave you a six"

Virgil nods as he takes in his score "It'll do" he tells Nina trying to cover up his disappointment.

"How do you feel going into the games?"

"Alright, nervous obviously but determined" he says, the audience applaud this.

"How about your mentor?"

"My grandma is proud of me she's a very determined woman too" he states "I know she'll help me through this thing"

The audience clap as Virgil leaves the stage, later that day however most of them have unfortunately forgotten he even exisits.

Raine is feeling confident as she steps onto stage, if willow can do this why can't I, her interview was all fluttered eyelashes and flirtatious glances. _That's not me though, I'm not my sister and I need to show people that I'm not her, I need to prove it to them all that I'll win this thing in my own way_.

She puffs out her chest and raises her shoulders as she sits down, trying to appear bigger than her small frame, Nina studies her for a moment struggleing to make a snap judgement before diving into the questions.

"Raine how are you enjoying the capitol?"

"It's lovely thanks, though not very green"

"Green?"

"Well back home we have a lot of green, the trees and the fields of crops it looks lovely in the spring"

"I must admit I've never visited" replies Nina, then again why would I she thinks just think of the damage the mud would do to my shoes.

"I hope the arenas green" Raine blurts "I'd be happy in it"

"You think you could use a natural arena to your advantage then?" she's asked.

"yeah, I can identify plants and know how to use wildlife to my advantage, climb trees and the like"

"and that's what you showed the Gamemakers?"

"Yea mostly the climbing side though"

"You must be good it got you a seven"

"That's good yeah, I do a lot of climbing at home working in the orchards" _stop rambling_ she thinks, _you've mentioned climbing like six times no_w.

"Yeah it's very good Raine" Nina confirms "Now tell me about your mentor, are you and your sister close?"

"Yes we are, but we're very different people, she's much more of a 'girly girl' and I like to get mucky"

"A good ability to have in the games"

"That's for sure" Raine chuckles

"Well thank you for talking to us Raine"

"Thanks Nina" Raine smiles and leave the stage.

"I'm not a girly girl" whines her sister punching her playfully in the arm.

"Well I'm sure not, in any way" she replies a bit too rudely sticking her tongue out at her sister. Willow shakes her head in disbelief.

Cane rubs his hands together in anticipation about the coming interview as he's called up to the stage, he's all smiles as he takes a seat by Nina.

"Now Cane, another volunteer, tell me why did you do it?" Nina gets straight to business.

"For my cousin, Thorn volunteered to save me and then he won the games, now I'm going to do the same" Cane replies.

"You're going to win for your younger cousin then, the boy who got reaped?"

"Yes Axel, the two of them are practically my brothers anyway, they practically lived at my house growing up"

"How lovely" smiles Nina,_ family connections sure are stronger in the districts_ she ponders,

_It's not the lovely that they had to escape their dad_ thinks Cane but her keeps quiet "Yeah there both good lads"

"Now concentrating on you for a moment Cane, if I may say your quite a big lad do you think that will be an advantage for you in the games"

"Sure, I'm a big lad but I'm no bully. I won't pick on kids smaller than me"

"That doesn't leave many of your fellow tributes does it" Nina chuckles, the audience join her. "What about weapons what did you show the Gamemakers?"

"I lifted some weights, threw some stuff around"

"Must have been heavy stuff, they gave you an eight Cane"

"Awesome" Grins Cane

"Now we know your mentor is your cousin, tell us something you don't think we know about him"

"Thorns like me he's a pretty open book. I'll tell you one secret though" he grins

"Go on" probes Nina

"I've took his token for the games" he pulls a small rounded pebble from his pocket and holds it up for the audience and cameras to admire, now this pebble was scooped off the floor by Thorne as he boarded the train for the capitol for his games and Cane knows this but he's not telling the capitol that story.

"It's our lucky rock, been in the family for generations. They say it came from the very first Hunger games arena in the pocket of our dead male tribute" he speaks with a deadly serious face.

"That's fascinating" replies Nina believing every word of his story "such a piece of games history must surely bring you good luck"

"That's the plan" grins Cane as his buzzer sounds; he takes a bow to thunderous applause and leaves the stage.

"I thought the rock was from the moon" laughs Thorne as he slaps Cane playfully on the back, "at least that's what I told them when Nina asked me"

"Like anyone in this place will remember that" Cane laughs "any way tomorrow I think I'll make it an artefact from before the dark days if anyone asks" he tosses the pebble playfully in the air before sliding it back into his pocket.

Felis has been waiting patiently for her turn and now it's finally here she can barely bring herself to go onto the stage and face the audience before her.

"You'll be fine" smiles Jay from behind her "just be yourself"

"Yes myself, be myself" Felis mumbles as she steps on stage before forgetting completely who she is in the noise of the crowd.

"Felis welcome" Smiles Nina cautiously, these twelve girls are never to be trusted she remembers her history lessons, they are born so far out from civilisation they become wild from a young age, just look at the way this one looks at her now.

Felis is regarding Nina with a confused look, the host looks at her with distrust and suspicion like any moment she might stand up and sprout some anti-capitol propaganda or something. Felis isn't stupid though, she doesn't want to make her inevitable death more painful than it'll need to be.

"How are you planning on winning the games" Asks Nina eventually,

"Oh I don't think I'll win" sighs Felis, "I'm not skilled enough" no female district twelve tributes will ever win again, after Katniss, bar her sister who somehow slipped through the gaps and won the 76th games.

"How sad" replies Nina, "But what did you show the Gamemakers to get a score of five then?"

"I used some knives to attack some dummies from a short range"

"That sounds pretty skilled to me, there's no need to feel down about that"

"I suppose"

"Tell me about your mentor then Felis"

"He's my Granddad, I really like him" she pauses feeling the weight of her stone cross around her neck "He's taught me a lot" she tells Nina.

"that's lovely" smiles Nina "thanks for talking with us"

And with that Felis' interview is over.

Jay Hawthorne is the last up and the audience hold their breath all waiting to see this already talked about tribute, how he does tonight may be the deciding factor as to how many people will be willing to sponsor him to victory.

"Ah another Hawthorne" smiles Nina as he takes a seat

"I know it's strange me and that district seven kid have the same surname right" he says with a grin, Nina glances at him in confusion, it's been a long night.

"I hadn't noticed" she comments "I was referring of course to your family, your older sister mostly, I remember meeting her on this exact stage three years ago"

Jay keeps his composure remembering for a moment the way his sister used to laugh as she walked to school in a morning. "Yeah I suppose we did have the same surname" he replies jokingly "she wouldn't have fit into this suit though"

Nina lowers her eyebrows at the strange boy, is he trying to be funny, he isn't very good at it. "Do you see yourself doing better than her then?"

Jay blocks out his sister's death every day since it happened the spear, the laughter on the district one boys mouth as he declared another traitors child dead, _please don't let me die like that_ he asks silently.

"I see myself winning" he answers simply, "I'll use my bow and arrow as my Aunt taught me how"

The crowd clap at this, a child skilled with a bow and arrow is always entertaining, "is that what you showed the Gamemakers then?" asks Nina, glad to get back to her usual questions.

"Yes that and my other abilities"

"Which are" Nina asks the boy interested to hear what a district twelve kid can do.

"Withstand pain" he answers "I've become very good at it over the years"

Nina winces "how?" she doesn't really want to know does she.

"Oh I'm really clumsy" Jay lies, the audience chuckle again and Nina smiles.

"The Gamemakers must have liked your bow and arrow skills, they gave you an eight"

"That's good" Jay knows he deserves more than that for what he showed them, but it is still a good score after all.

"Tell us Jay, how do you feel about your mentor"

"I love gran, she's sacrificed so much for her country and

"Thank you Jay Hawthorne" Nina announces and the final tribute leaves the stage.

Jay feels the arms of his grandmother embrace him as he steps off stage "do you think mom will forgive me for that?" he asks tears forming in his eyes "I never wanted to joke about Rosie like that"

"She'll understand" whispers Primrose stroking her grandsons hair and urging herself to remember his face before it's too late, before she loses him like she's lost all the others. Soon it'll be my turn she reminds herself, soon I'll be the one to die in the place of these innocents and I'll be with my sister, mother and children again.

* * *

**Yay finally interviews are done. I hope they we're more interesting for you to read than me to write, despite them being so short. Also I feel the need to apologise for naming the host after the bottle of perfume on my desk, so yh sorry about that but It's stuck now =D**

**But yay games up next, can't wait to share what I've got so far with you all so it might be up later today!**


	12. The Morning of the games

**A/N: To decide the character POV's for each chapter now I'm going to use two ways. 1. Reviews, the more reviews you post to the story the higher the chance of your tribute being featured. 2. Story line, if I feel a tribute's story needs expanding on, this could be a kill or a death scene but it might not be.**

* * *

**Morning of the Games:**

**Allyson Mala:**

"So who did I get" I ask my mom as I leave my bedroom to see my final breakfast feast lay before me. I wasn't going to be a cliché and decide I was too nervous to eat. I needed to eat because who knows when or if I'll get the chance to eat again.

Mom looks over the sheet before her and wipes some sleep out of her eye; I know she was up all night arranging my alliance. I'd thank her if it wasn't her job, anyway she can sleep when I'm dead.

"You got two definite, two depending on the career pack which they were still arguing when I left and three declined"

"Who declined?" I demand to know

"Well the boy from four for a start" she sighs "then the girls from six and seven, they've both stated they don't want allies"

"Did I get Cane?"

"Yes depending on the bloodbath of course."

"Of course, what about Tiffany?" I can't stand the girl on a personal level, but this isn't about making friends and she's one of the strongest out there.

"Her Aunt was still debating with the careers, as was the grandfather of the boy from seven"

"So I've got Cane and Jay?"

"Yes, the boys from eleven and twelve"

I nod "they'll do for now I suppose. I bet Hawthorne jumped on the chance"

"Primrose took some convincing, but she changed her mind once Cane was promised to the alliance."

"So I've got my band of misfits then" I grin

"No you've got an alliance of three people, assuming any of you survive the bloodbath"

"Love you too mom" I reply sarcastically, the woman has no confidence in me

Mom sighs "you know I love you Ally, I always have"

"It only took my being reaped for you to notice it though"

Mom rolls her eyes and sighs at me "of course I love you, your my baby girl, I don't know what I'd do if you die out there"

I look at her and can tell she's serious, I'm fully aware this could be the last conversation we ever have and despite our arguments you could say we're actually pretty similar people, we both hate to be wrong after all.

"You're my mom" I tell her "of course I love you"

**Ewan Hawthorne:**

I look to my grandfather in shock "you have to be kidding"

"No Ewan, Bastion Dartrush came to me early this morning. His son is offering you a place on the career team"

"Oh my gosh" I yell "This is brilliant"

Grandad smiles and ruffles my hair, which he knows I find annoying, I swat his hand away. "Your skilled Ewan, but don't become cocky alright. You have to come back to me"

"I will Grandfather, I promise"

**Tiffany Royce:**

"What do you mean they said no" I yell at my Aunt "how could they say no to me"

"They went with the axe boy from seven instead sweetheart"

"What why?"

"He did get a higher score than you"

"Yeah by one stupid point, god this is so unfair" I throw myself on the couch, _now what am I suppose to do I'm dead without the careers_.

"It's not the end for you" she says "The girl from nine is still looking for allies"

"But she got an eight"

"Yes the same as you, you'll be equally matched but I know you can beat her Tiffany, you've trained for this"

"I'll think about it" I reply, see if she survives the bloodbath and go from there.

**Miriam Blackthorne:**

Gunnar looks me up and down "you know I'm doing you a massive favour here"

"Of course I do" I reply "but please, I need this place in the career pack"

"Fine, but you've got to watch your back. Especially with Ursa."

"Of course" I'm no idiot, that crazy girl would even kill her only brother to win these games.

"I suppose we need to stick together though, help each other. It's not like we've got anyone else" he says softly.

_It's true_ I think, of the victors in our district we seem to have ended up in the capital with the worst of the bunch. The old man who can barely remember his own name and the drunken woman. I don't know about Gunnar but personally I'm embarrassed for our apparently once great district.

"They should be here by now" he continues, it's tradition for mentors to escort tributes to the hovercraft, but neither of ours have shown and it's almost time to go.

"Shall we just go?" I say and he nods. Honestly I never expected grandfather to show, nor did I really want to have to see him again but Gunnar's mother should be here if she wasn't still sleeping off last night's alcohol.

We step into the elevator together and shake hands as we're directed to separate hovercraft,

"I'll see you out there" I tell him

"See you" he replies heading away from me.

I climb into the hover craft and take a seat before strapping myself in, this is it, I'm going to the games.

**Tiberious Ford:**

Grandmother escorted us both up to the top of the training centre that morning; where in front of us sat the large hovercraft that would take us to the games. She turned to Libya first and wrapped my cousin in a hug, while I continued to look at the impressive craft and try not to listen.

"Make me proud Libya" she says,

"I will grandma" Libya replies "and I remember everything we discussed last night"

"Good" she nods glancing my way; I divert my eyes even further away from them.

After a quick hug they part ways probably forever, Libya keeps her composure though as she strides towards the hovercraft her braided hair bouncing behind her back.

"I wish I knew you as well as she did" I blurt turning to look at my grandmother

She looks down at me and smiles "Maybe one day you will" she tells me wrapping her arms around me "be strong out there, be stubborn and refuse to give in, it's the Mason family way after

all".

**Cane Wilks:**

I feel strange now Thorn is no longer by my side, we said farewell this morning and I boarded this craft off to whatever arena the Gamemakers have in store for me. Part of me knows that I'll never see him again that I'm going to die out here, but I keep hope too, hope that this bizarre alliance he's got me into might just be my ticket out of here.

The girl, Ally is on my hovercraft too, three seats along from me, I won't talk to her now, if either of us make it to a point when this alliance can be worked out then will be the time for talk.

"Twenty minutes to destination" calls the pilot through to the back of the plane, I hear a squeak of fear from a small girl in the seat to my right, Sisal I think her name is, District eight.

"Be brave little girl" I tell her

"I'm going to die" she whimpers and I catch the girl from two smirking our way, her eyes lit up in excitement.

"You might not little girl" I tell her reaching to hold her hand "you might go home soon"

"I won't" she replies yanking her hand away from mine she turns her head away "I'm going to die; I won't be like Twine I won't kill".

**Gunnar Reef:**

The peacekeepers meet us from the hovercrafts and escort us to our separate prep areas, a number of feet above me is the arena and I become very aware of its presence. In a matter of minutes we will see it for the first time and that's when the games will begin. As much as you may train and prepare yourself for the games there's no way you can simulate this feeling. The dread and the excitement all bubbling up inside until all you want to do is run and fight.

My stylist is as usual quiet as he helps me into the arena outfit, its pretty standard; a sandy pair of trousers with zip off legs that turn them into shorts, a light blue button up shirt and a thin rain coat in the deep green shade that district four is always given. It might be wet then, and cold, but also warm, not much of a clue there. The shoes are lightweight running shoes, nothing points to the arena being too rough of a terrain, unless of course the Gamemakers have chosen to deliberately under dress us.

"We're good to go" says my stylist "good luck out there kid" and with that he leaves me alone in my room, staring at the tube which holds the plate to take me to the arena.

"Five minutes" announces a voice from somewhere.

I sit down and continue to look at the tube, I wish my uncle could be here, he always had good advice.

"Stay yourself" he'd say "be the Gunnar you are not the one you think you should be" I may have only thought of it myself but it seems like good advice to take anyway. I will fight to come home but I'll make sure each fight is fair give my opponents a chance.

"Twenty seconds till tube detonation" calls an electronic voice and I make my way to my tube making sure I have my brass ring token securely around my finger.

The tube shuts sealing me in, I point my face upwards as it moves me slowly up to the arena, the anticipation of what it looks like is getting to me and I'm standing on my tip-toes when it arrives. I gasp in shock, it's not what I was expecting at all.

**Ursa Petronus:**

The plate lifts me slowly into the arena and I can't help but laugh at the sight before me. I'm in the capitol, or at least an exact copy of it. My plate has come up on the main avenue where we rode down on our chariots all those days ago.

I look around and am very aware that I'm all alone, no other plates have risen around me. All I can see is buildings and all I can hear is the countdown to the games "Sixty". Ahead of me is the tribute training centre, that's where the cornucopia will be, maybe down in the training rooms or on the various floors. I wonder if it's an exact copy inside, whether the food would be stored separate to the weapons, where did the avoxes even cook our food?

Where are the other tributes? Numbers projected in the sky are counting down and are approaching forty. Forty more seconds to figure this place out and make a move. To either side of me are long stretches of seating, they look eerily empty without the cheering crowds of the capitol. I suppose they'll be going mad now, wanting to see how the Gamemakers have recreated their stupid city.

Behind me is where the arrival station was and is that? Yes it's another tribute, not Adrian. He's tall, slightly tanned and a bit thick looking. He looks at me and behind me to the tribute centre. Don't you even dare come this way mister.

"Ten" the voice of the countdown makes me turn back to the tribute centre, I'll be able to get there before anyone else and get my weapons and supplies.

"Nine" thinking about it, this unorthodox starting place would make it rather easy for me to forget any career alliance and do my own thing.

"Six, Five" but I still need to get to the cornucopia, getting there and not joining the alliance could cost me valuable sponsorship. I'm no fool, I know that getting the support of the capitol is just as important when the Gamemakers release the mutts.

"Four" I'll do the career thing then, betray them later on when I don't need them anymore.

"Three" I'll make a show of it too

"Two" the bloodiest one they've ever seen.

"One" is that kid on the other plate still looking this way, hello death number one.

"Let the one hundred and fiftieth Hunger Games Begin"

* * *

**Surviving Tributes: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Linne, Chip, Gunnar, Miriam, Danny, Shadow, Libya, Tiberius, Ewan, Ayla, Sisal, Fuller, Ally, Gadish, Tiffany, Virgil, Cane, Raine, Jay, Felis.**


	13. Day one of the games

**Day one of the games:**

* * *

**Tiberius Fords:**

"Let the one hundred and fiftieth Hunger Games Begin"

I race off my plate and head towards the training centre, that girl from two may look scary but without a weapon in her hand I could easily take her on, I'm larger than her and I've got some muscle on me from working at the factory every weekend.

She's also running towards the centre, every now and again looking over her shoulder where I know she can see me advancing on her.

"You need to run away kid" she yells

"Kid" I laugh "you're just a stupid little girl"

"Oh you're so dead" she replies as she makes it to the door of the training centre.

Moments later I follow her into the building but she's nowhere to be seen, I make my way to an elevator and, the doors swing open instantly and I step in hitting the lowest button. I remember it taking me to the training centre two days ago, surely I'll be the first one here, that girl must have got lost or headed upstairs.

The doors swing open revealing to me the cornucopia, or at least the weapon portion, shiny weapons are placed around the room at the various stations where they have been all week. I grin and step out of the elevator whose doors close behind me as I take in the room and try to decide where to go first.

From the shadows I see a figure move, it's her!

"Should have took the stairs kid" she smirks charging towards me, she already has a weapon in her hand a short wooden staff attached to a longer strand of sharp metal. Her face comes up in a grin as she charges towards me.

**Jay Hawthorne:**

Boom!

I've barely had a chance to orientate myself off my plate and figure out where I am when the cannon sounds. I'm on my own which is strange is its own way, then there's the distinct lack of a cornucopia and the fact I appear to be in a back street of the capitol. Precisely I appear to be on Cornelius Row next to a bar offering '2 4 1 cocktails every Friday', I try the door it's locked.

I keep moving, keep trying doors and try to keep track of where I'm heading. Though I do have zero knowledge of the capitols streets and the businesses found there. Despite this finding food and shelter is a priority for me, then weapons. Not that I expect to find a bow and arrows in this arena and even if there was one I'd make a good guess that it was in the training centre. Everything seems to have its place in this arena, the few buildings I've entered are themed; clothes shops store collections of jackets and coats which I may need if it gets cold but I've left for now. I've also found, furniture shops filled with wooden furniture for fire wood and toy shops filled with toy weapons, I'd taken a couple of plastic knives which may scare off an opponent.

I had to hand it to the Gamemakers I think as I walk into a tailors filled with bolts of fabric and a lone pair of fabric scissors that I slide in my pocket next to the knives, they've seriously thought this arena through, I keep expecting a capitol citizen to appear and ask me if I'm lost.

A few streets over I hear a noise, a clatter and a swear.

"Fuck" It's a female voice; I slide my hand into my pocket and grip my scissors tightly. I continue to walk turning the corner where the voice came from and see her.

"Jay" Allyson cries "Panem I'm glad that's you, a little help here?" I look down at her leg which has become tangled in a rope; the store frontage beside her proudly boasts 'the look of district four in your own home'

"What happened?" I ask not stepping towards her, alliance or not I have to be careful here.

"Tried to open this door" she sighs "thought there might be something good in here and this stupid rope shot from nowhere and got my leg."

"Can't you untie it?"

She rolls her eyes "it's getting tighter see" I watch as she pulls at the rope and it does indeed tighten around her legs beginning to dig in, she winces in pain.

"You got a knife or anything! please Jay!" she begs

I pause unsure of what to do for a moment before deciding to do the right thing, games or no games. "I've got these" I reply pulling the scissors from my pocket, I walk towards her and bend down, making sure I can still see her face. The scissors struggle with the rope but little by little I cut through each strand until she is free.

"Neat scissors" she says standing up and rubbing her legs "where did you get them"

"Round the corner, there was only one pair"

"You got anything else?" she smiles and extends a hand "please" she adds with a desperate smile.

"Just these" I pull out the toy knives, "figured they looked realistic enough to fool people"

She takes one off me and runs it across her hand "blunt as a loaf of bread" she comments "can I keep it?"

"Sure" I shrug "As I guess were allies now."

That's when we hear the second cannon. Twenty two.

**Chip Jobs:**

These streets all look the same to me; the drab gray buildings are devoid of the streamers and lights of the real capitol and instead remind me of home. Row after row of apartments where we live and work, barely any sunlight and it's always so cold, but its home. I'm too scared to go into any of the doors though, there could be anything in there poison, mutts, other tributes. So I just keep walking, on and on through the gray streets.

I turn around a corner expecting more of the same and get a shock. Before me stands a grand building, with a large glass frontage it stretches up around five stories tall. Inside I see a long counter on which sits a small rucksack. I can barely believe my luck I pull open the door and step into the large building. Making my way slowly towards the bag I take in my surroundings; the large structure has the clean marble finish that's typical of the large buildings in the capitol and behind the counter where the bag sits is what appears to be a well stocked bar.

I have a quick look in the bag on the counter; in it is an empty water bottle, a strip of jerky and a key. Gripping onto the bag I turn around and see it, a giant board on the far wall, it is plastered with our faces, each displaying a score and other information such as age, weight, height, status and location. By the side of all but one of the tributes is a green light, only the male from six has a red light, Tiberius Ford is the first death in this strange arena.

This place would be perfect if I had a team, we could stay here and monitor our fellow tributes and find more food. But here on my own with no provisions I'm too exposed and will be dead in days. I keep the bag in my hand as it has no straps and head outside the building. As I'm about to walk away I have an idea. Taking the key from the bag I slot it in the lock to the building, it fits, I lock the door and put the key back in the small pack. Now nobody else can enter my secret spot and I can return whenever I want.

More streets of housing wind around the city and I continue to follow them, making sure never to stray too far from the building as I look for more supplies. Turning a corner into an open square there is a snapping sound, like that of a twig being broken and before me I see a round ball laying cracked on the floor, out of the ball stream a number of snakes.

I begin to back away but trip over another snake, it comes around me to my front and I can see its eyes. They look like the eyes of a cat, what did that mean again?

The snake bares its fangs.

"Oh"

**Aries Dartrush: **

I didn't see another living soul on my way to the tribute centre; my plate had lifted me out to the north of the train station and I'd followed the straight avenues until I reached the entrance of the training centre. Opening the door I step carefully into the building and take the stairs down to where the training area should be.

"Look who finally decided to turn up" it's Ursa, I was kind hoping one of those two cannons that went off earlier were for her.

"I had to run from the station" I tell her wiping the sweat from my brow as I make my way over to the pile of weapons and take a sword, "this all we got?"

"So far" she replies, "my guess is the foods in the kitchens"

"Which are where?"

She shrugs and begins to swing the flail in her hand loosely by her knee, its already dripping with blood and I notice a puddle by the elevator. I continue to dig through the pile, keeping one eye on her at all times. There's nothing here but weapons, at a guess there won't be any shelter provided because it's an urban arena, so all we need to find are the food supplies.

"We'll wait a few minutes to see if anymore careers show up then we can split up and look for the food" I say taking control.

"Fine, but I'm waiting with the weapons" Ursa snaps back

"Sure" I say with a little shrug, she's not taking control of me.

**Gadish Blackwood:**

I watch as another tall boy enters through the front door of the training centre, there are at least two careers in there now, the two boys I've watched enter. Walking in the front door to find the kitchen is looking less and less possible the longer I wait.

I make my way slowly around to the back of the centre to what looks like a loading bay, a large sliding door is partially open, climbing up onto a ledge I barely manage to squeeze through the gap. I find myself in a large empty corridor, like the ones we travelled through to face the Gamemakers in our individual sessions. Following my stomach I eventually find myself in the kitchens down below the basement level, the room is massive and filled with every food I can imagine. Fresh fruit, bread, boil in a bag meals and "chocolate" run over to the pile of candy bars at the far end of the room.

I stuff two in my mouth and chew them as I search through the food, with this store all I'd have to do is hide really well and I could see this thing through to the end, let the others get involved in the messy fighting stuff. As I'm swallowing the last mouthful of chocolate the door to the kitchen swings open and I duck down behind a counter.

"Yup just as we thought, foods all here." speaks one of the boys, he holds a long trident.

"Some sharp looking knives too" adds his companion.

"Yeah, you wanna shove some in these bags or shall we bring the weapons here?"

"Let's take food up; we might have to have a guard stationed down here though which will be a pain."

"Come on then let's fill up these bags and get going"

The both grab large sacks from the counters and begin to fill them with the piles of food; they share a bread roll as they do so deciding that "it'll only go stale in a couple of days". As they pack the bags they begin to discuss some of the meals they ate in the capitol. Chicken coated in lemon sauce, juicy pork steaks, thick stews and all kind of deserts under the sun. Chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, chocolate sauce, my mind goes back to the grand dishes of the last few days as they speak, each one as clear in my mind as the last. I don't even realize my stomach as started to rumble until it's too late.

"What the heck was that" exclaims one of the boys pulling out a sword from his belt he steps around the counter and I come face to face with him.

"Hey it's the fat kid from nine" he laughs, "He's got a fist full of food"

"That's our food kid" says the other one joining him

"I got here first" I tell them, my courage coming from somewhere

The sword boy laughs again "but we've got weapons, what do you have?"

"Good eyes" I say, "and a loud voice, I could be your guard, for the food"

"Sorry kid but no, you'll only eat it" he says as he pulls some of my food from my arms

"No" I cry "no, no please don't kill me"

"Gunnar could you please, the little brats giving me a migraine"

Gunnar steps forward and aims the trident to my throat, he looks me in the eye 'I'm sorry' he mouths before its trusted forwards into my skin and I feel the most excruciating pain you could imagine.

**Allyson Mala:**

The sound of the third cannon sounds in the air and I shiver, I really hope none of these are my future allies. I've been lucky enough to find Jay but neither of us have any weapons or supplies.

"Twenty one" he mumbles and I look over to him "sorry" he says "just keeping track in my head"

I shiver again this time due to the arena becoming cold as the sun sets. That only three people have died on the first day is pretty shocking, something I'd never imagined the Gamemakers would allow. But then again it means I'm safe for a little longer at least.

The capitol anthem blasts through the arena and we both look up to the sky;

'The Fallen ... Chip Jobs, D3 ... Tiberius Ford, D6 ... Gadish Blackwood, D9'

"Oh Gadish" I sigh "stupid boy"

"I'm sorry" says Jay looking a little down; I guess now he's put the faces to the numbers the prospect of counting any lower isn't a nice one. Not that it ever really was I suppose.

"We should find a bed shop" I suggest not wanting to talk about Gadish or how his family must feel now "at least lets find somewhere we can rest our heads in a pile of capitol clothing".

* * *

**Remaining Tributes: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Linne, Gunnar, Miriam, Danny, Shadow, Libya, Ewan, Ayla, Sisal, Fuller, Ally, Tiffany, Virgil, Cane, Raine, Jay, Felis.**


	14. Day two of the games

**Day two of the games: Both of the Following POVs take place over the same time.**

* * *

**District eight mentor Twine Mallott's POV:**

They tell you your first year mentoring is the hardest; it's well known that a 'first year' as we're called never brings their tribute home. I watch my sister on the screen in front of me and I can't believe them. Weft tells me that she doesn't have much hope for either of them "too many strong careers out there this year, kids who've been trained for this kind of thing" how can she dismiss her son so quickly.

Both of our tributes are still alone in the arena, Fuller is desperately thirsty trying every tap he can find in the hopes that one will spout some water. I know it's hopeless though the Gamemakers can more than likely control each tap individually, they will decide when he drinks not he. Weft tells me they won't let him dehydrate to death though, not entertaining enough for a quell. She sits back on her chair and begins to snooze, how can she be so lax? This is her son.

Sisal spent the night curled up just inside the doorway of an innocuous looking capitol house, one of many identical ones along a tree lined road. The tenants of those actual houses probably love this, watching as she wakes up and searches the cupboards for something to eat. The tap is working so she swigs from that for a while before coming across a small bag of apples hidden at the back of the cupboards.

Searching further around the houses on that street she finds a light cloth backpack and puts the apples in it, she then spends most of the morning making her way along the street house by house, finding some more working taps and a water bottle to store up some water, beyond that she also finds a small knife hidden beneath a bed which she slipped into her belt.

"Stupid kid" comments Weft,

"Who Sisal?" I ask swivelling my chair to face her

"What no, my stupid son is now heading towards the training centre, they'll kill him as soon as he goes through those doors"

"The Gamemakers?"

"No the careers" she sighs as if I should be getting what she means without explanation "they've been camping out in there all night, plus theirs four of them now, the girl from one showed at about two am" She explains, I must admit I've been so focused on Sisal I've not cared one bit about what the others have been doing.

Sisal is moving away from the residential street now heading towards the retail district along a series of narrow pathways following the signs to lead her the right way. She steps into a coffee shop and finds a couple of dry pastries in a cupboard, with little effort she holds one in her mouth and slides into the cupboard, shutting the door behind her and hiding from anyone who may come past.

Fuller is coming closer to the tribute centre now and Weft actually looks worries as he reaches for the door, "don't do it Fuller" she whispers.

"pst" calls a voice causing Fuller to drop his hand from the door, "what are you doing?" it asks.

Fuller looks around and sees a small girl emerging from one of the buildings alongside the training centre, I think in real life it's a cafe. I consult my tribute guide to see that it's Linne from district three.

"Going to get a weapon" Fuller tells her

"What and face the four careers in there?" she asks him "they'll kill you the moment they see you"

"What other options do I have? there are barely any supplies out here."

"Join with me, we can work together try and be the smart ones"

"I don't need help; I can do this by myself. Anyway the smart ones never win"

"My uncle did, and if my research serves me well so did your mom"

"My Mom had a weapon, an axe"

"Which she made herself, trust me don't do it, come with me we'll find supplies and wait till they leave"

Fuller looks unsure, "Run away Fuller" whispers Weft "if that girl is anything like her Uncle she's not to be trusted"

"I don't think she's out to get him" I tell her

"Ha" Weft laughs cruelly "are you so forgetful really Twine. Everyone is out to get him, even your precious Sisal"

"Sisal wouldn't" I begin to protest but Weft just shakes her head

"You killed three people Twine, I killed five, remember that."

"What I did is irrelevant to Sisal" I argue back

"Oh kiddo" she replies watching as Fuller walks away from the training centre to shake hands with Linne "it's very relevant to Sisal"

We focus on the screens again now in total silence, I suddenly am aware that we both want, no, need the others tribute to die, to save my sister I have to wish her son was dead and vice versa, that is the sickness of these games.

Sisal is still hidden away from other tributes and cameras in her cupboard whilst Linne and Fuller are on the live feed now as they move away from the training centre, they both enter an empty building and move up to the second floor. The room they enter first holds two bottles of water sitting alone on a table beside that it's empty, it has to be a trap.

"Are they safe?" Linne asks as he walks up to them and picks one up, she places it down and picks up the second one. Its too good to be true I think, other tributes have been finding water in facets not bottles, these two are about to be tainted, there's nothing Weft or I can do but watch while they both look at the bottles.

"They both look clear enough" Fuller comments his voice cracking a little, "and who knows when we'll find another supply of water."

Linne picks up the first bottle again and studies it "honestly I'm just too thirsty to not drink it" she says shaking a little.

"Together" says Fuller picking up the second bottle and unscrewing the lid, Linne does the same.

"yum" she smiles and they begin to drink from the bottles, both only drink around one fifth of the water in it "well we're both still here" comments Linne with a smile.

Fuller turns pale and begins to cough his eyes bulging in fear.

"Fuller?" asks Linne staring at him in shock, Fuller begins to shake and his breathing speeds up until he's gasping for air.

"Help" He gasps using his last breath before he collapses to the floor and begins to convulse before falling still.

"Fuller?" Linne repeats kneeling down next to the boy "Are you...?"

A cannon sounds answering the question on her lips and she jumps back from Fullers corpse, I don't see what happens next as a sob in my room brings me back to the capitol.

"My baby boy" cries Weft "My little boy, my youngest, oh Fuller I never thought, never dreamed"

I look at my fellow mentor, the woman who herself mentored me to victory the year before and I see her broken. On my screen Sisal has heard the cannon she leans her head out of the cupboard looks around and closes the door again.

**Ewan Hawthrone: **

I could get used to this arena I think as I wake up after a pleasant night sleep in the presidents bed, a quick glance out of the window shows me the streets below are deserted. This can't go on for long though, at some point we'll be pushed together forced to fight the bloodbath match the capitol are surely missing.

I haven't eaten since before the arena yesterday so that's my priority right now, I leave the mansion, which I searched yesterday to find nothing of any use and head out into the city. The first store I find is deserted as is the second but the third is where I hit the mother lode, Its hidden down a back street behind some empty buildings and I almost missed it until the neon sign caught me eye as I knelt down to re-tie my shoe lace.

'Cornucopia Camping supplies' it exclaimed and I make my way carefully into the store which holds all the equipment I'll need to get through this. I grab a reasonable sized rucksack and push in a sleeping bag first, I continue to rummage around the store collecting iodine tablets for water, a couple of heat packs, first aid kits, a small torch and a silver survival blanket. I'm about to give up looking for food when I see them; a stand of energy drinks and granola bars, glugging the drink down I shove the majority of the bars in my bag and all but one in my pockets.

I'm eating my first granola bar and wondering if capitolites actually ever go camping, or get themselves into any situation where they'd have to use any of this stuff when I hear the creak of a door. My eyes dart around the room searching out a weapon but all I can see is other supplies, I'll have to rely on my muscle then.

From a side room emerges Adrian Petronus, the boy from district two;

"Oh it's you" he sighs whether in disappointment or relief I don't know "still in the careers?"

"Couldn't find any of them ... erm .. you?"

"Me neither" I notice in his hand he holds a sharp looking pick type thing,

"Where'd you get that?" I nod towards his weapon,

"Back here" he replies and heads back into the supply room where I can see the pile of sleeping bags he slept on the night before; "you must have been quiet packing up that stuff" he tells me "I didn't hear a thing back here"

"Guess that's an advantage for me then"

"Guess it is"

I take two of the axes from the stock room and slide one into my backpack and keep my hand on the other. He counts out a number of sleeping bags and shoves them into his rucksack along with more survival gear.

"Allies then?" I ask after a moment not sure what he's thinking

"I've not killed you yet have I?"

"I guess not" I answer as he does up his bag,

"I think I have everything we'll need here, did you pick up matches?"

"Oh no" I admit "don't want a fire to get me caught out"

"Sensible idea" he tells me "but I'm heading to find the other careers and they might need some to heat food, take a couple of boxes" I grab the boxes and shove them in my now full bag before we start to walk towards the training centre. As we make our way through the streets a cannon sounds causing me to jump.

"Wonder who that was" I say

"No way of knowing" Adrian answers "just be glad it's not you" I nod and we continue in silence.

It's getting later as we reach the training centre "Are you sure?" I ask looking up at the imposing building, "I thought it might be a trap"

"It's where Ursa would have gone, and I've not seen her picture in the sky yet, so I'd say it's safe"

We make the training centre just before sunset and are greeted in the training area by a group of four other careers,

"This all of us?" asks Adrian throwing sleeping bags from his rucksack out to people

"All but Miriam" says Gunnar "not heard from her"

"The capitol anthem plays and on the ceiling of the basement room the capitol seal is projected"

"We might be about to hear from her" quips the girl from one, Phoenix I think her name is.

'The Fallen ...Fuller Manchester, D8'

"We're going to be her forever at this rate" says Ursa "we go out hunting tomorrow and level the field a little more"

Everyone agrees to this though Aries seems a bit unhappy that everyone is following Ursa, maybe I can get them to turn on each other I think as I volunteer to take the first guard duty. I'm partnered up with Phoenix and the two of us eat some hard loaves of bread in silence as we watch the others sleep.

* * *

**Remaining Tributes: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Linne, Gunnar, Miriam, Danny, Shadow, Libya, Ewan, Ayla, Sisal, Ally, Tiffany, Virgil, Cane, Raine, Jay, Felis.**


	15. Day three of the games

**Day three of the games:**

* * *

**Linne Graphin:**

Boom! Boom! Boom! Fullers cannon echoes in my mind, it could have been me that drank that water. Pure chance said it wasn't. I'm not sleeping, only waiting in the small room next to the one where I left his body, it'll probably be gone now and I need to find more supplies but I don't want to go out there. The night is dark, but not too cold, I'm hungry and thirsty though my water bottle beside me has remained untouched since Fuller died, it must be safe as we drank the same amount but it scares me none the less.

Finally I work up the courage to leave my cupboard the door creeps slowly open and I peep my head out. Fuller is gone but his dropped bottle remains, I remain rooted to the spot as I look at it, it looks so innocuous, still mostly full, for such a little amount to kill him it must have been strong. I have to do something I can't just stay here with no supplies but two bottles of water one of which is poisoned. Poison. Poison. I can't, can I? Could I really use it to convince others to kill themselves? Am I a killer?

I pick up my safe bottle and rip off the label to distinguish it from the poison and pick the poison bottle up as I leave the building not planning to return. Suddenly I forget Fuller and focus on the game, these are the hunger games and I'm going to win, I'm going come home to my sisters and parents, I'm going to make Uncle Magnet proud.

The next building I enter contains a small empty satchel giving me somewhere to place the poison, I sling it over my shoulder and start to jog through the city, sipping my safe water as I go. After running into many more buildings I've also gathered a small bag of dried fruit, a jerky strip and a spare pair of socks. I look up at the sky and realise that the sun is beginning to rise, the high powered streetlights of the city begin to flicker off and I decide to hide out in the next good sized building I see for the day.

Two streets over I find a large metal and glass building with the name 'Nero's' plastered up the side of it along with a two stories high image of Nero Petronius, I almost don't enter it, being sure that one of the district two siblings would come here but I don't want to waste any more time, the careers could have already begun their hunt and if they have then they would have left this building behind.

The lower floor of the building is deserted but the second floor contains different machines for exercising and a large pile of weights, around the edges of the room are photographs of the district two victors. Nero is the largest, then there's some of the pre-rebellion victors, Enobara, Brutus, Roland, Peter all the way around to their most recent victor a girl called Origen. I feel their eyes boring down at me and decide to leave, I'd rather take my chances on the street than stay here, it doesn't feel safe.

I'm making my way back to the stairs when I hear a cough and then another.

"Who's there?" I whisper looking into the room, from a back corner a pale girl stands up and looks directly at me.

"Who are you" she asks her voice croaking and cracked, she must be really thirsty, I get an idea, no I can't. Would she do the same thing to me?

"I'm Linne" I tell her "District three" I feel the need to clarify out of nervousness.

"Shadow, five do you have any water?" she coughs again, it sounds dry and painful.

"We're not supposed to help each other, we're supposed to be fighting" I tell her, I can't be too obvious if I'm going to do this,

"I know" I could tell she would be crying if there was any moisture in her little body "but please I'm dying"

I slip my hand in my satchel and feel for the bottle that still has the label, I've been keeping it separate from my other stuff in case it leaks and poisons my food. Poison that obviously will kill Shadow and I'll be to blame, but isn't that the way these games work. I grip the bottle and pull it slowly out of my bag.

"Please only a take a little bit, it's all I have" I tell her holding out the bottle, I begin to shake from the enormity of what I'm about to do.

"Thank you" she whispers as she comes over and takes the bottle, she naively takes three controlled little sips before passing it back to me "thank..."

Her eyes bulge just as Fullers had done and she begins to breath heavily, "no why" she gasps as she collapses on the floor. I watch with wide eyes as she convulses on the floor just as Fuller had done before she stops moving and the cannon sounds.

"I'm sorry" I tell the girls corpse before leaving the gym and making my way into a small store a little further down the road. I don't cry this time though, I feel stronger, I feel like I have a chance to win this thing.

**Ursa Petronus:**

I take the last watch of the night, unable to sleep any longer. No-one seems to be in any rush to leave the training centre except me and its getting irritating. I look down at the sleeping bodies of the others and run the edge of a knife along my palm. I could kill them all now if I wanted, a simple slit to the neck would take down every last one of them, easy, efficient. But then what? There are still a load of others out there that need to die and I can't do that alone, I could however if ... Boom! A cannon sounds waking the others.

"Okay" announces Aries as he stretches out of his sleeping bag "I'm bored of sitting here waiting for Miriam, we're moving out in half an hour and we're going to make a kill today"

"Just what I was going to say" I retort "I was also going to say that we don't leave a guard, no one would dare touch our stuff"

"You don't know that" replies Phoenix as she re-braids her hair.

"Anyone actually wants to stay and guard the stuff?" asks Aries, of course no-one raises their hand "then we leave it".

"Let's pack some food for later and leave then" suggests Adrian, always the sensible one. I stand up and wiggle my toes to bring the feeling back into them before striding over to the boy from seven who no one has killed yet for some reason; he's still laying down his eyes half closed. I stamp on his shoulder with all my weight.

"AGGHHHH!" he screams bolting upright "what the hell Ursa?!"

"If you want to sleep I can arrange that Ewan" I snarl waving my knife at his face "do you want to sleep?"

"No I'm up" he grumbles picking up the axe that lies by his side as he gets up and has a little stretch, like a cat, cute "I'm not used to early mornings" he mumbles

"Wuss" I reply "Dad always had us up at five thirty, right Adrian"

"Yeah right" he replies with a yawn as he packs some food into his backpack. Pathetic.

Provisions packed and weapons at the ready we let Gunnar set up a few rope traps to catch any idiot who dares come in and set out into the city. I have to let others take the lead as they've travelled further to the centre so have a better idea of how the city works. From what dads told us about the capitol I'd say it's rather accurate right down to the ornate street lights and rose filled flower beds.

"Do you think there will be any Nero's gyms here?" asks Adrian, he is of course referring to dads victors business, (it's like a talent but makes more money).

"Well there's like five in the capitol" I boast, "surely they will have built some in this arena dad will be mad if they haven't"

I hear a snort of laughter and turn to see where it came from, ready to end the life of the one who laughed at my dad. Aries covers his mouth with his hand but his eyes still shine with laughter I pull out my short knife from my belt and point it to his face.

"What the fuck is so funny" I shout as the group of us freeze

"Nothing hon" he replies

"Tell me" I demand stepping forward again the tip of my knife touching his neck not quite piercing the skin.

"Ursa stop" pleads Adrian, he doesn't try to physically touch me though.

Aries looks far too calm for a boy in his position but at least he's stopped laughing "It's nothing really Ursa, just something stupid my dad said week ago" he rambles quickly, taking a step backwards.

"Which is?"

**Felis Myro**:

"Look it was just something about how district two victors need to prove their dominance by sticking pictures of themselves above gyms"

"And no district one Victor has done anything like that. Phoenix's Aunt has a perfume range for Panems sake"

"Hey! Leave me out of this guys"

The loud voices of the squabbling careers come through the walls of the shop I've hidden in for the night, it's a sunglasses shop to be precise and rather useless though I have taken a pair in case the arena brightens up. Yesterday I managed to find some food and water bottles but that's mostly gone now and I need to go find more.

"Ursa I know you want to kill someone but can you please leave Aries we need him"

"What can he do that I can't?"

The voices continue moving towards me becoming louder and louder, I've found a small space to hide behind so if they were to look inside the shop they wouldn't see me, but I have no way of seeing them either. I hold my breath if they catch me I'm dead no ifs no buts just one dead Felis.

"Guys you're gonna be scaring off any others around here" cries one of the male voices I've not heard yet, I wonder who it is.

"Let's keep moving Ursa, leave him till later" says another Male voice

"Leave me till never more like" says yet another guy "If you want to go Ursa we can go right now, you and me"

"To the death?" asks a girl I presume to be the Ursa they're all talking to.

"Naturally" replies the boy and I hear the sound of his sword being drawn

"Guys" calls the female voice that's not Ursa "can we not now I think I see someone over there running down that street"

"Where" says Ursa

"That way" the girl continues and I hear feet running away from me, I stay still for a couple more minutes before sliding out of my hiding place, that was too close for comfort I need to move on find somewhere else, maybe underground if possible.

**Tiffany Royce**:

After two days in the arena I was becoming weak, I'd been constantly moving though the city searching for weapons and food with little food and drink to keep myself going. I'd known that the games would be hard without the support of the career pack but I'd not known how hard. I had a feeling the biggest store of food would be where it always was at the cornucopia but where the cornucopia was supposed to be stumped me.

I've tried all the stores I've passed and come across little of use, an empty water bottle and a ball of twine, the water bottle fits in my pocket and I've been keeping my hands busy using the ball of twine to practice tying nooses. Delicately twirling the twine like a lasso I imagine swinging it around the neck of my opponents and strangling them to death, I slide my thumb into the noose and pull it tight, it digs into my thumb and cuts off the blood flow to my nail but I keep pulling. The twine digging further and further in, I ignore the pain and will the twine not to break.

"ouch" I finally let myself feel the pain and loosen the twine, its strong at least then, stronger than the weak ropes we use at home, maybe even enhanced with none natural fibres. I ball the twine back up and slide it into my pocket secure in the knowledge that it may help me later. I look to try and see which way I've been walking but am becoming more and more lost. The area I'm in doesn't look like the nicest part of the capitol in that the buildings aren't plated in gold or as tall as some of the ones I've seen earlier. I dunk and weave between small side streets avoiding open looking areas until I see a large building I can't help but go and investigate.

The building is twice the height of any of the surrounding ones with a glass frontage and a pair of large double doors, I walk up to the doors and try to open them they're locked. No doors been locked before, what's in this building that they want us to work for I wonder.

My musings on the building is interrupted by a far too familiar noise 'tsss tsss' it's a rattler, like the ones we get at home that sometimes kill the cattle. I look down to see it heading across the clean road heading straight for me. This is no ordinary rattler though its bright orange eyes tell me that much, it must be a mutt. Who knows what damage it could do if it bites me. I move swiftly remembering what I've been taught at school, keep it in sight and don't bother trying to scare it off with loud noises as it's as deaf as a post. I smash my elbow through the glass of the building not caring about the pain or the noise that might be attracting other tributes, right now I have to kill this snake.

Once I have a shard of broken glass I tie a lasso with the twine and fling it towards the snake. My aim is perfect and the lasso slips around its neck I pull it with one sharp jerk and it tightens securing the snake to the twine. It's angry now though, it hisses as it begins to head straight at me, I need to move quickly, keeping a secure hold on the twine I begin to spin pulling the snake around with me, after a few spins I'm going fast enough to lift the rattler and a few spins after that I drop it. The snakes now too dizzy to attack so I charge at it and use the glass to slice off its head before stumbling to the floor myself.

"That was so frickin' cool!" the voice comes from behind me and I jump out of my skin I turn to see that two other tributes we're watching me the whole time.

I jump up again and hold the glass in front of me towards the pair, I know who it is the girl from nine and the boy from twelve, two members of this alliance I'm supposed to join, like I'm going to trust them straight away though who knows how their plans have changed in the last two days.

"There's more where that came from" I yell waving my glass towards the pair, the girl laughs.

"I seriously hope so, if you're going to be in our alliance"

"What makes you think I'll want to join you?" I reply

"Coz the best weapon you've got is that shard of glass" replies the boy

"And what have you got" they both look bare of weapons until they slide knives from their belts

"Enough" he replies "and we know where to get more"

I realise quickly that I'm at a disadvantage here weapons wise; but also at an advantage in that they don't want to kill me, they want me to join them so join them I will. I lower the glass and walk towards the two of them and we shake hands, it's only then that I get a closer look at the knives in their hands "Are they plastic?"

"Told you they'd work from a distance" smiles Jay before he heads off down the road Ally turns to me and grins

"Welcome to the team"

**Miriam Blackthorne**:

I collapse on the floor as I finally reach the training centre, I've barely stopped since my plate lifted me up at a far end of the arena, after a moment I pull myself up to my feet and slide through the double doors before taking the stairs down to the training area preparing myself to face the other careers.

The lights flicker on as they sense my presence revealing an empty room, on the floor lay some empty sleeping bags and a pile of half eaten food so they must have been here, I step around a rope trap that could only have been set by Gunnar, I'd recognise that district four style anywhere. I make my way to the centre of the room and stuff some of their food supply into my mouth before sitting down on a sleeping bag, should I lay down while I wait for them, I mean I haven't slept in days and I can barely keep my eyes open, maybe just for a few minutes ...

...

...

"Ouch, for fucks sake not again!" the cry wake me up and I sit upright, in front of me stands two other tributes looking at third who has got herself caught in Gunnar's trap.

"Hey there's some one here" calls the boy, its Jay, "who is it?"

"Miriam" I reply "you guys better watch out the others will be back soon"

"Why don't you kill us yourself" asks the girl from district ten "you know what you wouldn't know how" she advances towards me holding a shard of glass that's already coated in dried blood. Did I miss a cannon?

"Guys I'm kinda stuck here a little help perhaps" as Allyson calls out the doors of the elevator slide open, everyone goes on the defensive waiting to be attacked by the returning careers instead it's Cane who steps out into the room he looks around and starts to chortle.

"Did not expect to see this as the door opened" he says

"Cane" calls Ally "Will you help me out here"

"Or I could snap your neck"

"You wouldn't we're in an alliance"

Cane shuts his eyes and shakes his head in disbelief "What the heck" he says eventually and begins to pull at the knot around Ally's leg, it doesn't work though I can see how Gunnar's tied it and he's only making it tighter. Jay is helping him now trying to cut through the rope with a pair of scissors.

"It's too strong" he complains

"I can untie it for you" I tell them "if you let me join you" this lot look much less likely to kill me as I sleep.

"Let her go Tiff" says Ally and Tiff glares at here.

"It's Tiffany"

She's lowered her glass shard though and lets me run over to Ally kneeling down I quickly untie the trap and free her from the rope, above the burn from Gunnars trap is a second rope burn that is beginning to scab over, it looks sore and could do with some cream or something.

"What happened there?" I ask her pointing to it

"Rope burn from some district four store trap"

"It needs cream"

"No shit" she walks away from me limping slightly "good now we're a team guys let's get what we need and move out" she orders and people obey.

I study her as I sort through a collection of knives looking for the lightest, she holds herself like a career tribute with confidence, but from what I've seen she's got none of the skill that comes with it. She's also looking through knives but with no idea what to look for I debate giving her some advice but don't want to get my head bitten off.

"Score" Jay pulls a swish metallic bow from the bottom of a pile, I grin

"I bet they're pooping themselves up there now" chuckles Cane who still hasn't chosen a weapon.

Jay swings the arrows onto his back and grips the bow tightly "we done here?" he asks looking around nervously, I slide the knives I have into my belt and grab a short sword for good luck.

"Done" I say

"I'm done too" says Ally she also has a collection of throwing knives still in the bag and a curved blade, it's a scythe like they use in nine to harvest the crops I remember seeing them in training. Cane has also settled on a weapon a long shiny wooden bat, personally I don't think it's a good choice but he seems strong enough to do some damage with it. Tiffany is trying to carry far too many shiny things though and we have to wait for her to decide which ones to leave.

"Take the most boring ones" I tell her "they won't miss them"

She reluctantly leaves a couple of the flashier swords behind and straps a long sword to her belt keeping a chunky looking knife in her hand.

"okay guys move out, we need to find some food before we make base" Ally orders limping towards the elevator we all squeeze in and look at the panel of choices.

"The kitchens will be bellow us I'm sure" says Tiffany

"No they'll be the first floor or in the apartments, we're at the bottom floor now" Jay corrects her.

"Then let's go up then" Says Ally hitting the button for the first floor again, it gets us there in seconds and we all step out.

"We'll need a guard" says Tiffany "Someone to warn the others if the careers come"

"I'll stay" I offer "Gunnar still thinks I'm with them anyway so I'll be fine"

"Right lets go" Says Ally and she begins to walk down a passageway none of us have explored before, I sit on a soft chair in the reception and wait to see who gets back first.

**Cane Wilks:**

The corridor seems mostly filled with offices, rooms for the creation of the games, we try some doors labelled 'mutts' and 'weather' but they're locked.

"This is the strangest Arena ever" Jay comments as we pass a door labelled 'After care'

"That's where they talk with you after the games" I say as we peek though the small glass window into the empty room "Where they make sure your still sane enough"

"Ha" comments Jay, "Like anyone's Sane after the games"

"Oy" replies Tiffany as we continue to walk "My Aunts completely sane thank you very much!"

"Yeah which is why she's perfectly happy for her niece to fight to the death"

"You don't know what you're talking about" snaps Tiffany back "The games are an honour"

"Yeah big honour it was for my sister to die a bloody death on TV, for my mom to lose her siblings my grandma her children. Shut up about things you don't know Tiffany" Jay yells all this very loudly causing the rest of us to freeze in shock.

"Oh Jay" sighs Ally "They won't like you for that"

"They already hate me Ally" he replies with a shrug "they won't rest until my whole family die" he continues to walk down the corridor slamming open a double door at the end.

We follow him in silence following him through to the room at the end of the corridor "The kitchens" gasps Tiffany though it's obvious where we are. The mountains of available food have barely been touched and some of it is already beginning to go off. "We should take as little as possible" I say though I'm not sure how well I can adhere to that myself I start by grabbing an apple.

I crunch into it and am reminded of home, of pinching the small deformed apples that they wouldn't send to the capitol. The others seem to have found a taste of home too, Ally is tucking into a loaf of rough looking bread filled with grains, Tiffany is slipping beef jerky into her pockets whilst Jay is looking sadly upon the pile in front of him.

"So what is a typical meal for twelve then" I ask him, trying to distract him from his morbid thoughts "I've always wondered"

"Whatever we can find" he tells me "tessrea grain and wild green stew mostly"

"I can't see much of that round her thank Panem" I tell him I'm also well aware of the gritty taste of the sacks of grain delivered to the district each month.

"God I hate that stuff" Ally adds "probably more than you do, I see how they mill it" she shudders and I decide not to ask.

I pass Jay over another small perfectly formed apple. He takes it off me smiling gratefully "we should find some fish for Miriam" he says and I nod

"Let's put together a few bags worth then we can get out of here and eat properly"

**Pheonix Starr: **

Okay so earlier I hadn't seen anyone running away when Ursa and Aries were about to kill each other, the truth is I don't think the career pack would survive without the two of them to keep trying to outdo each other and I'm not ready to move off on my own not yet.

We still spent the next two hours searching for my imaginary tribute before they begin to give up.

"We must have lost them" says Adrian "let's move out of this area"

"I think we should head towards the station" says Aries, "I just have a feeling about it"

"I'd say the shopping districts really. More stores for supplies and hiding cannon fodder" comments Ursa, being contradictory as usual.

"Well from here I think you have to go through the shopping district to hit the station" I say pointing in the general direction, "so we can do both"

Ursa grunts and begins to walk and the rest of us begin to follow her, I wait till she's further up ahead to turn to Adrian who's also lagging slightly with his sack of supplies.

"You know if I didn't know better I'd never guess you two are siblings" I whisper to him

He smiles "I always say I take after my mom" he replies "Ursa and Dad however are two peas in a pod"

"So why did you volunteer for the games?" I ask

"Because at the time I didn't know Ursa would. I wanted to ..." he pauses probably becoming aware that his family are watching back home "I wanted to get the glory of victory before her" he states becoming all robotic in his voice as he's been trained to do "You're a career too, you must understand"

"Yeah" I sigh "was planning on leaving the volunteering till next year though, once I turned eighteen like my Aunt was"

"Age isn't necessarily an advantage" he states.

I debate telling him that it gives us more of life before death but wuss out of it, not wanting to embarrass myself before the cameras.

We reach the shopping district quickly and begin to search the stores, most of the good stuff seemed to have been taken already and we already had a load of stuff back at the tribute centre so we didn't bother taking anything. Much to Ursa's disappointment any tributes that have been scavenging here are gone.

"Onto the train station then" says Aries beginning to continue to south "then we head back"

"But it'll still be light then and anyway ..." I block out the second half of Ursa's tirade and turn to look for Ewan and Gunnar who have begun to talk amongst themselves. Becoming paranoid that they were scheming to kill the rest of us off I slip over to them.

"How's it going guys" I ask, Gunnar smiles

"Fine ta you?" he replies

"Never been better" I reply and Ewan chuckles

"yh its a laugh a minute this place" he says.

We walk for a moment in silence before coming across the train station "Wow" gasps Gunnar "I never saw it from this angle"

"You not seen it on Tele?" I ask and he shakes his head

"I'm usually too busy training for that time waster. Bar watching the games" he adds.

Entering the train station it becomes obvious that someone was just here before us, Aries grins as he points at a wet foot print on the floor.

"Told you guys" he whispers

We continue into the terminal following footprints and other clues till we reach platform one, the platform is empty of the high-speed trains that brought us over to the capitol but over on station three is a smaller street car, Aries begins to head towards it and we follow. We split up to enter at different doorways making sure no-one could escape it and make our way to the centre carriage. There huddled under a wooden bench is a small tribute, she looks about fourteen or fifteen and her jacket signifies she's from district ... oh I know this...

"Twelve" whispers Ursa grinning so widely her mouth stretches across the whole lower half of her face as she draws her knife from her belt. I see Aries about to protest that he wants the kill when the girl scuttles under the bench and between Gunnars legs, she jumps out of the train and onto the platform.

"Stupid" yells Aries as we run after her, she heads along the rails continuing till the platform ends, stupid, she's trapped now.

"Stop fighting and we'll be gentle with you" calls Gunnar and Ursa laughs, the girl doesn't look like she's falling for it.

"Come and get me" she squeaks and Ewan charges towards her as he reaches the bumper guard at the end of the platform the girl gives it a shove it clatters to the floor with an almighty crash and lands of Ewan foot.

He screams in pain but continues to run at the girl who dives away from him and runs straight into Ursa.

"That was stupid" she says raising her flail in her left hand, Crunch! Crack! Snap! Skweltch!

Ursa swings her flail at the girls head crunching into the skull with so much blood spraying out, the girl collapses into a heap as Ursa continues to beat down on her a manic grin splaying across her face the whole time, Boom! The girls heart gives in but Ursa continues to beat her.

"She's dead Ursa" says Aries "and I'm getting the next one" he turns away from the corpse and begins to walk away from it.

"Back to the tribute centre then?" Asks Ewan a look of pain on his face, I look at his foot, it's probably broken and from experience I know that broken bones are pretty painful.

"Aww baby want to go back to sleep" snarls Ursa turning away from the dead girl and towards Ewan, I see now the splatter of blood on her forehead and wince.

"I just thought that was the plan alright" he replies his eyes burning with fear.

Ursa grins "oh my your face" she laughs wiping the blood from her face "you make me laugh you little wuss" she turns and heads towards the door chasing after Aries.

"That girl freaks me out" Ewan whispers and I nod "I have a feeling we'll need to end her before she gets us" I tell him.

As we reach the exit of the train station the sun has begun to set, the anthem plays and we all look up in the sky in anticipation to discover who made the cannon go boom earlier that morning and the name of our little district twelve girl.

'The fallen ... Shadow Daniels D5, Felis Myro D12'

"Still too many left" comments Ursa "We need to get a move on tomorrow"

* * *

**Remaining Tributes: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Linne, Gunnar, Miriam, Danny, Libya, Ewan, Ayla, Sisal, Ally, Tiffany, Virgil, Cane, Raine, Jay.**


	16. Day four of the games

AN: I feel the need to apologise profusely for how long this has taken to be published, let's just say real life/ writers block/ other plot bunnies got in the way for too long. But I hope it's suitably long and epic enough for you and you're not too mad.

* * *

Day Four:

* * *

Raine Dash:

On the fourth day in the arena it began to rain, the odd little drop at first, you know the kind that makes you look up to the sky and ask "was that rain?" But then it built up first to a steady drizzle then to more of a downpour. It was as if somewhere someone was slowly turning a dial, which thinking about it they probably were.

The urban arena gave me plenty of shelter should I want it but I choose to stay outside and point my mouth to the sky, every drop of rain is sweet relief to my parched tongue. I also take the opportunity to pull my hair from the bun it's been tied into and run my fingers through it. I'm dirty too but dare not try to wash myself in the rain in case I let myself become too vulnerable. Once I've swallowed what feels like plenty of water I tie my hair up loosely and continue to hunt for food.

I'm so weak and defenceless feeling, I've found nothing of use since my plate lifted me in a nondescript street three days ago, I'm tired and I'm scared and I want to go home. Home to my sister, my sister, a single thought of her reduces me to a pile of tears. She must have been so much stronger than I could ever be she survived she won, all these years I've been looking at the wrong Willow the capitol's victor with her fancy dresses and flirty attitude, not the girl who survived an arena with her sanity intact.

Pausing for a moment to compose myself I find myself thinking a strange thought 'what would Willow do?'

Willow never wanted for anything in the games she was an 'exotic beauty' as the press called her, she was fed and watered through her whole time in the arena and when the time came they sent her a weapon and she killed the final tributes.

I am not as pretty as her but if I say so myself I can be just as charismatic, memorably so even. From my pocket I draw out my token, an orange bandana made from an old dress of mine, I've had it for years to protect my hair in the fields I tie it around my head now to protect it from the continuing rain before I continue to move. Somewhere in this arena must be the stuff I need to survive this.

* * *

Virgil Irving:

I slop though the wet streets, the downpour of rain is flowing down my body soaking me through to the skin but I keep moving. This rain is a good time to get a good distance unseen by the others and hopefully find a decent weapon and some other supplies.

Looking through the rain I see a flash of orange on another tribute as the move around the large open square in front of me I make a split decision not to acknowledge them and avoid the confrontation that would follow. Instead I move in the opposite direction to them keeping to the sides of the square to shelter in the shadow.

The rain continues to pour until it's almost painfully heavy; I slide under a shop awning to shelter for a moment and decide what to do next.

A flash of lightning appears from the sky striking the awning above my shelter which quickly collapses onto my head, knocking me onto the floor. Gasping with the pain I crawl into the store and curl up into a tight ball.

Lifting my hand to my head I can feel the sticky texture of blood, the pain is to much to handle and I begin to float out of consciousness.

I don't even realise she's there at first, I hear her footsteps approaching slowly. Then I see a flash of movement at the far side of the store and my first thought is that someone's here to finish me off.

"Make it quick" I tell them squeezing my eyes shut.

"stay still" replies the voice, its softer than I'd expect, I open half an eye then both to see who it is. She's looks twelve, one of the youngest competitors in these games. Technically I know I could beat her if we were to fight, but she's twelve and that where I'll draw the line.

She's leant down and is touching my head, dabbing it with the sleeve of her jacket.

"ouch" I moan

"Baby" she chuckles

"Just leave me to die" I whine "Go find someone else to save"

"I don't like the others"

"Well then you can't like me either"

"Says who?"

"The Gamemakers"

She just chuckles at this and finishes wiping my wound "it's only shallow, you'll live"

I chuckle at this, it feels like a kind of redundant comment for her to make right now. But the pain has subsided and her conversation has distracted me for a moment at least.

"Thanks for that" I say with a smile extending my hand "I'm Virgil by the way"

"Sisal" she replies shaking it firmly "and I guess by that we're allies now?"

"Well you did save my life"

* * *

Nero Petronus:

This games is becoming a love fest, it seems only my girl Ursa is the one actually playing the game I know the way her brain works every moment she's in there she's thinking up new ways to beat the others. Adrian however is being stupid actually bonding with the fellow careers I have accepted that my son won't come home and I hope my wife has too.

My kids are however both becoming firm favourites with the capitol audience there's not the big characters you get in some years but the two of them are being pretty memorable with Ursa's two kills under her belt and Adrian's sensible and apparently likeable persona. Bar the two of them the only other tributes getting much attention is the girl from three who seems to have the makings of a little murderess and of course Jay Hawthorne and his little anti capitol rant. Last time I checked the bookies had pretty good odds on his end coming within the next two days.

Ursa's group seem completely unaware that their stash was raided yesterday as that girl Miriam reset the trap before leaving with the other alliance, you know the chummy one. They're also getting a lot of coverage as they're one of the largest none career pack alliances in a while, but I don't hold up much hope for any of them. Except perhaps the girl from ten none of them would have the ability to win the games in any other year and I for one can't wait to see them all go down one by one. With all this it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting game.

There's a knock on my door and it opens to reveal my assistant Charm, as I'm the only mentor for district two the capitol in their 'wisdom' have given me a little helper. Charm is of course useless but he's apparently training to become and escort and his parents are very influential so I make do, he passes me the coffee I ordered ten minutes ago and gives me a little salute.

"Anything else you want sir"

"No"

"Then may I ask permission to stay sir"

"yeah whatever kid sit down" I knew the polite thing would be to tell him to call me Nero but I've always liked the salutes and the Sirs I get at the training centre so I may as well get some of them here too. Let's just say it's a perk of my situation and it sure does demand respect.

Charm perches on the chair to the left of mine and begins to closely examine the screens taking in every moment as Ursa picks some food from her teeth with her nail.

"You never see this stuff on TV" he murmurs

"Yeah coz it's boring" I reply as Pheonix excuses herself from the group to use the bathroom

"But it's real" he replies "It's human"

I raise my eyebrows, the capitol usually don't want human tributes they want dolls and they want killing machines. No matter how big his parents may be saying stupid stuff like that cannot be a good idea. I don't bother telling him this though I don't see the point I have my girl to get home.

After a bit longer of awkward silence he is fiddling with the ruffles on his shirt and I'm listening to the plastic material rustle. I don't mind it for a moment but then it begins to grate putting my teeth on edge.

"Stop that"

"Sorry sir" he stops

"If you're so bored by this real life you can go" I try to encourage him to leave

"Oh no sir I'd like to stay"

"Then be quiet for Panems sake" I snap

On the screen Ursa is sharing a plan with the group;

"We need to split up" she announces "one team will go to the east and the other to the west"

"I don't think that's a good idea" responds Aries "we need to stick together"; he likes to contradict Ursa at every opportunity I've noticed. This habit won't end well for him, that's for sure.

"I agree with Ursa" says Adrian, "We can cover more ground"

"What if we need back-up?" asks Aries

Ursa laughs and I do too "Careers don't need back up" she says echoing my thoughts exactly.

Aries realises he is defeated and decides to take Gunnar and Phoenix with him, Adrian and Ewan stay with Ursa.

"Meet back here at sunset" Asks Ewan.

"Those of us who are left" Ursa replies and the group of them split off in separate directions. My feed only follows my tributes so I lose sight of Aries' group quickly.

* * *

Aries Dartrush:

That girl is getting on my nerves; I'd like nothing more than to push my sword through her neck and end her. Not right now though, now I have smaller fish to fry. Gunnar and Phoenix are bound to follow my every command so I made sure they were with me when we moved on towards the east of the arena.

"You think we're going to find anyone, it's been pretty sparse so far today?" Asks Phoenix

"There are people out here" I tell her "I can feel it"

We remain silent as we move through the streets, keeping to the shadows and avoiding leaving footprints in the newly emerging mud. I have to make a kill soon I think and before nightfall too. I gesture for the others to follow me into a large clearing and we scoop around the area looking for any sign of life.

The hours drag on as we continue to scout out the arena, my feet are getting tired and the midday sun has begun to beat down on us.

"I think we should rest" Gunnar says and I reluctantly agree.

"This is ridiculous, this arena is too large" I sigh as I sink down onto a stone bench, "It'll take us months to find people in this"

"Maybe that's what they want" Phoenix ponders "Maybe they want the longest games in history, another big moment for the quell"

"Well it's a stupid idea, because it's dull" I rage "A games should be three weeks long at the most and more people should be dead by now."

Phoenix gulps a little as she looks at me "Then maybe we should shake things up, do something to make them come to us"

"Like what?"

She just smiles.

Finding firewood in this arena was tricky, but after a while we collected enough to make a decent fire, on which we put a skewered potato from Gunnar's sack.

"I was looking forward to eating that" he pretends to moan.

"You can eat it when we eat our food later" I tell him, but I can tell he's just as excited to see if the trap works as we are.

The next part is a little harder and I volunteer to do it if I'm allowed the kill. Taking a knife I slice into my palm, ignoring the pain I let it drop into a puddle by the side of the fire. I continue making drips around the fire as I kick the ashes to make it look like someone left in a hurry. Phoenix smiles as she wraps my hand up in a bandage;

"It's bound to work" she tells me "it's my plan after all"

Next is the waiting game, we share a small pack of dried fruit sitting on the second floor of a building that is probably an apartment block or some kind of office in real life. In this life however it's become our base, a place for us to plot and wait and eventually leave.

Its late afternoon when we spot him.

"Aries" whispers Gunnar "over there, at your two o'clock"

I look to my right and notice a gap between two buildings, a face is peeping out into the square and towards our fire. My feet begin to twitch and I want nothing more than to rush after him now and end his short useless life. But no my training kicks in, if we make ourselves known now he'll flee back into the maze of streets and we'll never see him again.

I point downstairs and we move to the ground floor where we arrange ourselves out of sight of the windows, I keep an eye out though. The boy is keeping to the shadows moving around the edges of the square, after a moment he darts to a large sculpture in the centre and looks out at the fire, still smoking and releasing the smell off the baked potato, my mouth begins to water as I know his must do too.

Maybe if he'd been less hungry or more rested he'd have guess it was a trap, but the tired weak boy made his way over to the fire and notices the blood. If I were him I'd assume the builder of the fire left in a hurry, maybe while fleeing a mutation or another tribute.

As he's sitting down to reach towards the food we make our move.

I run out first and am followed by Gunnar and Phoenix, we surround the boy who jumps to his feet and looks around him, his eyes darting around the square.

He begins to panic, breathing fast, and turns to run, he runs straight into Gunnar who pushes him to the ground.

"Go on Aries" he says "you said you wanted this one"

"That I did" I reply and step up to the boy "whats your name?" I ask him out of curiosity

"D..ddanny" he stutters, "please don't do this"

"Why do they always beg?" I ponder before I pull out my sword and slice his stomach in a cross, he screams for a second before collapsing unconscious from the pain.

He's not dead yet though so I find the spot where I know his hart to be and end his pathetic little life.

* * *

Allyson Mala:

"We have a follower" Jay whispers to me, we're sitting by an empty fountain in one of the capitols large squares. This morning's rain has ended now but some still remains in puddles allowing us to boil it to cook our food.

"Who" I reply, not turning around to look in case we scare them off

"Don't know some girl, Orange jacket" he looks down to his food and takes some of the reheated stew onto his spork.

Boom! A cannon sounds interrupting our conversation. We pause for a moment before shaking it off, after all we're all still here aren't we.

"Six then?" I ask, referring to the girl in the orange jacket, the only other orange jacketed district is me, so it must be six.

"Must be, wasn't she the one with the cousin" he speaks with a mumbled mouth of food and I wince at the view.

"Think so" I reply "and don't talk with your mouthful didn't your mom ever teach you manners"

"Not that I remember" he states stuffing more stew into his mouth "what do we do about her then"

"Ignore her, maybe she'll go away. We don't have enough food to share any. Not with the way you're stuffing your face anyway"

"Hungry" is the only reply I get with another view of Jays stew

I laugh and eat some more of my own stew, once I finish chewing I open my mouth to show Jay the contents "mmm food I Like food" I say sticking my mouth in his face.

"Eww okay I get it its gross" he laughs pushing me away

Cane comes over holding one of the oranges we found in the supply he's opened it up and gives us each a slice "what's the joke?"

"Jays eating habits" I tell him "oh and our little stalker"

* * *

Libya Mason:

I watch the group of them laughing and joking as they eat their dinner, they're acting as if this is some kind of joke. Somewhere they want to be and its making my blood boil, I don't want to be here neither did Tiberious my poor dead cousin.

I don't know who did it, all I know is I need to avenge him I need to fight to come home, for Grandma.

I'd found a furniture store earlier and managed to break off a table leg to arm myself with something, maybe I'm being rash or maybe this will be the greatest victory in games history. Not pausing to plan beyond my initial anger I rush out to the group of them and take a swing for the taller girl. She ducks quickly and swings around punching me in the face, I topple over and she sits on me pinning me down to the floor, crap.

"What do we do?" asks the dark boy looking down at me "keep her prisoner"

"Did no one tell you the aim of the game Cane" asks Ally "Oh that rhymed" she smiles before looking me in the eyes "we kill her"

"I'll do it, Allyson" says the district ten girl "It'll be no different to slaughtering cattle"

"Go for it" says Allyson as I watch the ten girl pick up a large sword and advance towards me.

"No please" I beg "I'm fast, strong, I can help your alliance win"

"There's only one winner" Jay Hawthorne tells me "and there's already too many of us" I notice he glances towards the other girl as he speaks, the quiet one.

"Then let me fight for my place, a fair fight, two swords, to fighters, one winner"

"I'm fine by that" says district ten "let me at her"

"Not you, I want to fight Allyson" I tell them

"What" District ten exclaims "no way"

"You chicken or something" I say twisting my head back towards Allyson's "you scared I'll beat you?" she is I can see it in her eyes but I know she can't refuse me not now.

"Pass us your swords Tiffany" she orders standing up and letting me free, Tiffany frowns but passes over the swords to Allyson. "I said I'd lead you guys until one of us wins" she tells them "If I can't even defeat one other competitor then I'm not worthy"

"If I win then you let me lead you" I snap at the group who glare back.

"Deal" says Jay as Ally passes me a sword, the moment my hand takes the sword I swing for Allyson's stomach she moves out of the way quickly.

"Such a hurry to die" she taunts stabbing her sword towards me, I swipe mine towards hers and they clash with a loud clank, with a step back she pivots on her left foot and swings the sword again. This time it's my turn to dive out of the way I have to throw myself on the floor to avoid her hitting my body.

She swings the sword down at me and I roll on the floor to avoid it, it barely misses my ponytail however.

"come on you worm" shouts the ten girl "defend yourself properly"

Allyson is laughing as she lets me stand up as I do so I swing the sword at her ankles catching one of them lightly she stumbles but regains her balance. "So the worm has a bite" she snarls aiming for my neck. Throwing up my own sword I catch hers inches from my skin and push against her sword with all my might. I feel like I might come out on top of this particular moment of the fight, my confidence comes to soon though and I suddenly feel a searing pain in my shoulder.

I look to see an arrow protruding from it, nearby Jay stands; bow still in his hands a smirk on his face.

"Cheat" I spit turning around

"So" grins Jay as I feel the icy cold steel of Allyson's blade between my shoulders. Falling to my knees I scream from the pain.

"You didn't need to do that Jay" she snaps as I feel my body fighting the pain, I'm bleeding and badly. I can tell. I'm going to die.

"I was bored of watching you two" Jay replies.

My breathing is shallower now.

"I was about to win"

Every breath is a pain.

"I told you I was bored, just drop it okay"

So much pain.

"But now she's practically your kill not mine"

Pain, just pain.

"Look you can still be leader, plus you did deliver the final blow"

End it. Please.

"Whatever, let's just move on from here"

"Please" I gasp, feeling my own blood coughing up from my mouth.

"Oh the worms still alive"

My last thought is lost to the pain that flowed though my body.

* * *

The Fallen ... D5 Danny Allardyce and D6 Libya Mason.


	17. Day five of the games

**Sisal Mallot:**

I was sat with Virgil as we watched the faces of the dead light up the night sky, soon I will join them but until then I aim to keep my new ally safe. People may say I'm not right in the head for not wanting to live through this, but I don't, I made that decision and I'm not going to change my mind.

Why him I wondered as we fell asleep in a dark corner of a capitol building on the most boring street we could find. I've spotted other tributes on my travels, but not once had I made myself known to them.

Virgil seemed different though, he's big and strong looking, at seventeen he should be one of the strongest competitors but he's not. I feel that if it came down to it he wouldn't hurt a fly, so I feel safe with him. It's stupid really, I've decided I'm going to die but I'm not strong enough to just walk up to a career tribute close my eyes and let them end me and with Virgil I can be protected until the time feels right. I've spent a lot of time thinking about my death the last few nights and I've decided I want it to be painless, well as painless as death can be. Is death painless I wonder? Interrupting my night long morbid thoughts Virgil wriggles next to me and wakes up.

"Did you even sleep" he asks looking at me curled up watching him,

"No" I reply

"You should, I'll stay up and keep guard" he offers

"Thanks" I smile and lay down rolling up in a ball to sleep.

I plan on just pretending to sleep but my eyes are heavy and I find myself drifting off.

When I awake I'm confused, Virgil is gone but he's left me here alive, if he was going to run why didn't he just kill me? The corner of our little house feels bare and empty and for a moment I'd rather be dead. I stand and rub my legs till I can feel them again; maybe I'll go for another walk find myself a cold hole to die in. I walk to the door of the large building and peep out deciding which way to run.

"Hello, found us food" Its Virgil, I turn and see him walking towards me a loaf of bread in his hand. It's as if he's gone to the shops, not into a battle field.

"What on earth!"

"Its great right" he laughs "It came in a parachute for us"

"Us?"

"Yeah, well it had my name on it but I'll share it"

How did he get sponsors I wonder? He must have rich friends in the capitol or back home, his Gran must be amazing at her job.

"Thanks then" I turn and head back into the building,

"Oh Sisal?"

"Yes?"

"I found another friend on my trip" he mutters "do you mind if she joins us? She's starving?"

"What? Who?"

"Her names Linne" he waves his hand and a girl a similar age to him steps around the corner, she has deep black hair and she's skinny yet I suppose we all must look much skinnier than we did a week ago, over her shoulder hangs a satchel and she has a bottle of water in her left hand.

"Hi Sisal" she says "I hope you don't mind me joining us"

I shake my head and step aside as she joins us, the three of us sit in a circle ripping the bread into three pieces we eat our piece in silence. He's too nice I think looking at Virgil and that will be his downfall. Linne is harder to read, she's watching us both closely gripping tightly onto her bottle of water. The three of us are a strange bunch for sure, if it weren't such a bizarre year we'd have all died in the bloodbath.

Yet here we are.

"Do.. do you guys want some water" she squeaks holding out her bottle. She's hiding something but what?

"Please" smiles Virgil taking it from her and I understand.

"No" I call, before he can drink it "please can I go first" I get it and I know what to do.

"Urm sure" he holds it back to me.

"thankyou" I speak quickly, I slowly move the poisoned water to my lips, I hope it doesn't hurt too much.

* * *

**Linne Graphin:**

Boom!

"You killed her" the boy speaks slowly and deliberately, like he can't quite believe what just happened.

"Yeah she's pretty dead now" I reply

"She was only twelve" he still sounds confused, should I try and attack him, force the poison into his mouth, he's older than me and stronger than me. I was hoping he'd drink it first, taking the girl out would have been quicker "I was going to drink that, she saved my life" he continues. I didn't even know he had an ally when I found him climbing a building to reach his parachute.

"You still thirsty?" I try taking the poison from the dead girl and passing it to him, a sly grin on my face. The boy could take me on easily and now I'm being stupid, I need to get out of here and quick. I fling the rest of my water into his face before running around him an out of the building. Unfortunately my attack doesn't kill him instantly as I can hear him clattering behind me, damn my plan went so long, if I'd not been in shock at seeing the girl, if I'd given him the poison straight away I'd have a whole loaf of bread now. Luckily the bit I did eat has given me enough energy to keep running as the boy struggles to keep up with me; he should be slowing down as the poison works through his body by now.

After a while of running I pause for a second to look behind me, he's gone. I duck into the closest building and collapse on the floor, I wish I had some fresh water right about now but both bottles are bone dry. Instead I just curl up in a small gap and look to the sky "A little help uncle" I ask.

I'm answered by a familiar and reassuring bleep bloop of a silver parachute.

I chase it down to where it's landed just out of reach of my closest window, I place my hands on the window ledge and heave myself up onto and out of the window. I jump down making sure I'm not seen and gather the whole parachute up before running with it three streets over not wanting anyone else who may have heard it to follow me.

I prise open the capsule and find a small note reading simply 'use sparingly' with it is a simple glass vial containing a liquid as clear as water, the vial is so small I almost drop it but I know immediately what it is. Poison.

* * *

**Ayla Bane:**

"Exposure can kill as fast as a knife" the words of the head trainer run though my mind as I lay dying in a small corner of the arena, surely a knife would be preferable to this.

There must have been food out there, but I was too scared to go find it.

I have barely moved in days.

Since I stepped of my plate outside this building.

I don't know what it's supposed to be but its empty.

Nothing to find here but a small dead girl.

I close my eyes and decide to sleep till the end comes, though I've heard it could be days before you die from starvation.

I drift in and out of consciousness till I can sleep no longer, so I just lay there a while listening to every sound; every whisper of wind, scuttle of an ant, each footstep as another tribute heads my way.

An old rhyme we used to sing in school as we skipped comes to my mind I begin to hum, I can't remember all the lyrics something to do with bells and fruit but the last two lines I sing outloud as the footsteps come through my door.

"Here comes a candle to light you to bed, and here comes a chopper to chop of your head"

"I guess I could do that if you want Ayla" Ewan says,

"What are you doing here? Didn't you get in with the careers?" I ask him as he sits beside me twirling the ferocious axe he's holding on the ground.

"It's a long story" he mutters

I shrug and he begins to talk.

Apparently he had got in with the careers and everything had been okay if not a little tense until yesterday.

"We split up" he explains "and I went with the guys from two for a while." He pauses and looks up to the late afternoon sky, why is he telling me this? Why does he care what I think?

"I heard them talking about me though, they were planning on killing me I know it. I don't trust that Ursa".

"She is a career tribute"

"Well so am I, Grandad taught me all I need to know and I plan on winning this"

"So you want me as an ally?"

"No"

"Then why waste my time with your life story"

"To relax you, so this is easier"

"so what is..."

* * *

**Gunnar Reef:**

"So where did he go then" Aries is yelling at Ursa

"The little bugger just pegged it when we had our backs turned"

"Then you chase him down and break his little neck before he's run a hundred yards. Didn't your dad teach you simple stuff like that, or was he too busy pitting you against each other."

Boom!

"Maybe that was him there" chortles Ursa

"Maybe he made the kill" Adrian replies

I guess we'll find out later, "We'll hunt him down tomorrow" Aries states and begins to head back to the tribute centre knowing we will follow.

The fallen... Ayla Bane D7 ... Sisal Mallot D8


	18. Day six of the games

AN: Really sorry this has taken so long to update, many excuses such as real life and writers block but I also felt like I didn't want to kill off anymore characters as I was getting attached, this little break has given me time to think the story through and figure out a plan for the end. Enjoy :)

**Day six of the games:**

**Cane Wilkes:**

Ally sleeps beside me as I sit up and keep watch; the sensible side of me knows that she's keeping close so that if I move she'll wake up. But another part of me thinks that beneath it all she's the same as the rest of us, a scared kid wanting to go home. Before the games I was sure it'd be easy, fast maybe it'd play out like it did every other year and I'd be detached and strong, just kill off the others and it'd be a quick and easy way home. Now I'm not too sure.

Were sleeping out in the open by the fountain still, it's a good supply of constant water and gives us a good view of the surrounding streets so we can't be snuck up on.

Morning sneaks up on me as I watch the artificial sun rise in the sky another day to fight to survive, another day, to get to know my teammates to make it harder when the time comes. It was exhausting.

Beside me Ally wakes up and stretches before scratching her head "Ugh I need to clean myself" she yawns before looking me up and down and sniffing dramatically "You do too mate" she chuckles, I punch her playfully on the shoulder and she laughs.

"I wish we could just lay here for the rest of our lives" she sighs "just the two of us" she whispers looking me in the eye.

She's trying to seduce me I think, she's probably trying the same trick on Jay maybe she plans to pit the two of us against each other later, but as I look into her laughing eyes and her cheeky little smile I just can't believe that.

As we sit there in silence Jay, Tiffany and Miriam wake up. Jay looks up to the sky.

"Going to be a hot one today" he says "can't see a single cloud"

Tiffany smiles, "feels like back home" she comments

There is an awkward silence until Ally speaks taking charge again "We need to move on then. I don't want to get a sun burn on top of everything else"

We gather the rest of our stuff abandoning anything we don't need in the fountain to hopefully ruin the stuff and the water for everyone else. It felt strange leaving that place but we all mange to do it quickly before heading west as to not walk into the sun.

"I know this place" Tiffany comments as we round a corner Jay stops and looks up at the building in front of us. To me it just looks like another capitol building all be it a glass one.

Jay laughs "it's where we found you isn't it tiffany, with that snake"

"Yeah" she replied "you know we never did go inside that building"

**Ewan Hawthorne:**

It seemed like a good idea at the time, leaving the careers, they were going to kill me off soon anyway I was sure. My hope was that my disappearance would have caused a bigger rift between Aries and Ursa and one of them would finally kill off the other but the lack of cannons today seems to have disproved that idea.

So now here I am going solo, going to win. I hope.

**Raine Dash:**

Buildings so many buildings so much shelter but nothing of any use, there's so many buildings to hunt through for supplies. It's exhausting; the games, I've not even done anything and I'm struggling to keep going, I'm struggling to keep the will to live.

As usual I'm thinking of my sister of her strength and bravery of how she's sitting somewhere in an air-conditioned room surrounded by food and drinks watching me, watching me suffer and eventually watching me die. I want to be with her, I want to be free and safe.

I zip up my coat and sit in a doorway curling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on them I hug my legs tight_. I may just slide away_ I think.

_It may be painless._

_Fast._

_Soon._

A noise out in the streets alerts me but I don't move, I lay down, still, curled in a ball and scrunched my eyes shut.

_I'll just lay here till I die_. I decide.

**Miriam Blackthorne: **

I'm trying to make myself useful to this alliance nut without the need to sneak, steal or throw a knife my skill sets are pretty limited. The other four seemed pretty excited to check out the building and I wasn't going to be the one to stop them.

The thing is this building the doors are wide open, there's pretty much a giant sign really proclaiming 'this is a trap', _I'll keep back_ I think, let the others get killed.

**Raine Dash:**

Painlessly dying was taking longer than I'd hoped, it turns out bodies can't just be turned off by pure will alone, or maybe I just didn't want to die.

But I can't win I know that.

I'm no victor.

I'd stretched out from my curled up position as my legs were getting cramp and looked out over the arena. I'd give anything to just go back home and forget any of this ever happened.

A small cat slinks towards me, mewing softly, I step towards it wondering how or why it's here. Is it a stray or more likely...

"here kitty kitty" I purr stretching my hand out towards the animal it seem to smile as it slinks towards me, the last thing I see before I close my eyes forever is the grin of a fang.

"Thank you" I whisper as the animal tears out my throat.

**The Fallen ... Raine Dash D11.**

**Still alive:**

Careers: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Gunnar

Ally's alliance: Ally, Cane, Tiffany, Miriam, Jay

Solo: Ewan, Linnie, Virgil


	19. Day seven of the games

**Tiffany Royce:**

I love our new base the buildings spread out over four large floors, starting with the entrance hall with the large scores board which early last evening updated to tell us that Raine Dash had died. We looked towards Cane as the news came through but he just shrugged.

"Barely knew her" he said and nobody brought it up again.

Later in the night as the capitol anthem rang through the sky it was confirmed that the death had happened "we knew first though" I comments as we all move back into the building and through a door to our new hide out. The hide out was a smallish back room with one small window and just about enough floor space for us all to sleep. We'd searched the whole building for a good spot when we'd arrived and this space had the most protection so here we'd found ourselves.

Miriam hadn't been to keen on staying and we'd almost caught her trying to leave soon after we'd arrived. "I wouldn't do that if I were you" Jay had told her as he'd caught her stealing our remaining food.

"This place isn't safe" she retorted "we should all leave"

"Not happening" Jay told her "so either you forget this foolishness or I kill you" he looked down at the girl a hard look in his eye.

"It's forgotten" she replied emptying her bag on the floor she looks Jay in the eye, something tells me this isn't over yet.

Searching higher in the building we'd found a fresh supply of food, mostly rotten fruit and a few hard loaves of bread but there were some energy bars, beef jerky and other things that would last, we took all that we could carry and shut up the stinking room behind us.

"We should have stayed here when we'd found you" Jay tells me as we sit separating the food as the others take it in turns to sleep or patrol the building.

"But then we'd have no weapons" I reply

"True but we'd have had that fresh food all to ourselves"

"True but the place was crawling with snakes" I tell him

He nods "yeah, I forgot that little detail, wonder where they all went"

"Probably just waiting for us to relax" I chuckle

Jay simply smiles as he re-counts some granola bars, I can tell he's scared and he fears the capitol more than the snakes. Then again so do I, snakes I can kill they are just animals, people are animals too we can die. But the capitol, it's more than just the people it's an idea and its one we all believe in, it can't die.

But I hide my new found ideas for Jay and the watching public and I continue helping to count the food. Keeping silent and eating the food we are given, that is how you survive here in Panem. The Games however, surviving them is something I haven't quite figured out yet.

**Adrian Dartrush:**

My sister is ranting again, she's frustrated that we didn't kill anyone yesterday and is taking it out on Aries again. I want to tell her to shut up but don't want a sword in my gut; I look over at Gunnar who's sat on the floor of the training centre sharpening a knife in his hand. He looks up at me staring at him and looks back down to his weapon.

What's gotten into him I wonder, he was friendly enough with me the other day. Then I realise we've hit day seven the usual midpoint of the games, the point where the careers turn, where they kill off some of their own to preserve food. Maybe he thinks I'll be safe because of Ursa but I know I won't be, my sister never like me much.

"Adrian you thickie you're not listening to me" I hear my sister yell, oh dear was she talking to me

"Sorry sis, didn't hear you over my own thoughts" I reply she just laughs

"You think too much bro. I was just telling dear Aries here how we were bred to win the games"

"I suppose that true enough" I tell her

"Pretty obvious too" adds Phoenix who I hadn't realised was even listening, last I saw of her she'd gone to fetch water from the kitchens of the training centre. She stands there now bucket in hand looking straight at us.

Aries chuckles at the comment but Ursa is less pleased "what's that supposed to mean"

Phoenix shrugs "what did you have outside here that wasn't focused on the games?"

I struggle to think of an answer

"I always liked to read", she continues "there are some excellent authors in One who use our presses to self publish. When I win I'm going to open a small library somewhere in the district"

"I like to swim" adds Gunnar

"Kind of predictable mate" laughs Aries "Between training sessions Dad would teach me about the stars, it's a hobby of his"

"That's why your all going to die" my sister laughs "I was raised to win and win I shall" she storms off into the darkness of the room taking her weapon with her as she walks I can hear her ramble on about "killing the bloody lot of them right now".

"I don't envy you one bit Adrian" Aries says looking at me pity in his eyes, "but when the time comes, I'll kill you quickly"

"Yea thanks mate" I mutter grabbing my water bottle and filling it up from the bucket being careful to leave enough for the others.

"I want to kill someone" Gunnar announces out of the blue "the sooner the rest of them are gone the sooner we can have it out for good"

Aries shuts his eyes and breaths deeply "yeah" he says eventually "we need to find the others, but first Ewan. No one leaves the careers and lives to tell the audience back home why"

"Agreed" says Phoenix strapping her bag to her back "let's go get the bastard"

"Ursa, you coming" I yell into the darkness Aries scowls at me

"Miss this! No way" her reply comes as she emerges from the dark "gonna get me another kill"

** Virgil Irving:**

I have one thought in my mind as I trek through the city, I need to kill that girl, I need to avenge Sisal then I'll let the poison take effect. Then I'll allow myself to die. I only got hit with a splash of it on the face, but it must have been strong as it barely touched my lips and I can feel it killing me.

How do I find the girl though, she ran off in the direction of some large buildings that I've been pacing around ever since. Step by step I fight the poison step by step I focus on my task.

As some point she'll have to come out, have to face me.

"Come out come out wherever you are" I call into the open, maybe if I entertain the viewers at home they may shower my Gran in sponsorships and she could send me something to help me look. "Here little Linnie" I call.

I hear a noise and turn around just in time to notice a small wooden ball roll to the left of me; I smile and head from where the ball came. If that was her attempt to set me in the wrong direction it failed.

The sign above the shop shows it to be a toy store the perfect place for her to have found the wooden ball and a slightly ironic place for me to kill her. I'd scouted around this building before and remembered that it had no back windows or doors, there was only one way in and only one of us would ever leave again. Therefore I'd decided to avoid the slow and steady option and simply kicked in the door.

"I know you're in here girl" I bellow "You've got it coming after you killed Sisal"

"You not dead then yet?" the reply comes from in the darkness "I guess your bodies too big for my poison, do you want a top up?"

I scowl at her confidence, she should be terrified stupid girl, I'm going to kill her, doesn't she realise that, I take another step into the room and feel my foot catch some rope. "You mean to trip me" I call out "well it's not going to.." as this I see something move in front of me and I duck as a toy boat sharpened to a point swings for my head. I reach up and grab it pulling it down and throwing it on the floor it smashed into a handful of pieces.

"Just die already" she screeches, she's scared now. I think I am too.

"Oh I will" I tell her, for I know I could never live with what I was about to do, no matter what she had done to the others. I take hold of a sharp piece of the broken ship and run towards where I see her in the shadows.

Beating the wood down on her head I'm surprised it doesn't crumble. She screams and fights me as I puncture her skin draw blood. Gosh that's a lot of blood. She pushes against me something soft in her hand. Struggling he hand up as I continue to smash mine down on her head. I feel my mouth filled with a soft material and stop hitting her for a moment; I rip the toy out of my mouth and see that it is in fact a small doll.

But it tastes off... and why am I shaking.

"Oh" I tell her "that was clever"

"Thanks" she replies as I drop the wooden shard that's caked in her blood, I collapse on the floor and feel my whole body shaking and convulsing. And my head the pain.

**Linnie Graphin: **

BOOM!

The boy stops convulsing and lays still, just as the others all did, but unlike the others he got a good shot at me first. I reach my hand up to my head, its sticky; I bring it away to see it caked in blood. I unzip the bottom half of my left trouser leg and push the fabric to my head. I'm feeling woozy. I need to sleep.

No. I need air.

I stand up and wobble for a moment.

No. I need to sit down.

I slide onto the floor and stare at Virgil's body, he didn't deserve to die like that, foaming at the mouth and thrashing around. None of them did.

I think back to Fuller how sure he must have been that the water was safe, how shocked I was when it wasn't. If our roles were reversed if I had took the poisoned bottle and died would he have took it, gone on to kill three more. Or would he have run, run and survived not killed.

I peel the leg away from my head and look at the blood, it's still gushing out, as strong as ever. Virgil may not have lived to see it but he did it, he killed me.

Unless.

No.

I couldn't.

But then again what's left for me here: Half a bottle of poison not enough to kill the remaining tributes, a family who will shun me like they shunned my uncle, an uncle who doesn't really care and four dead teenagers to my name.

Why not make it five.

"Thanks for the poison uncle" I whisper as I pull out the cork and put it to my lips.

Maybe this is what he intended it for anyway.

**Phoenix Starr:**

"I think we should be heading north" Ursa states storming off in that direction. It's pointless though for us to go that way. This arena is so big that every way is pointless.

BOOM!

"Fuck" she swears "that was another kill I could have got"

"I wonder if it's Ewan" I ponder

"He better not be dead I want to kill him" Aries states.

"Why should you get that honour?" Ursa bites back

"Because I'm in charge" he answers with a little grin

Oh dear I think he's gone and done it now, he's angered the beast.

"Like hell you are" Ursa replies turning towards him, fire in her eyes.

BOOM! I leap a little, wow they were close together.

"Who the hell is getting all these kills?" Ursa asks stomping her foot like the spoilt brat she is.

"I don't know" I say "but I wouldn't like to run into them".

The Fallen ... Linnie Graphin D3 ... Virgil Irving D10

**Still alive:**

Careers: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Gunnar

Ally's alliance: Ally, Cane, Tiffany, Miriam, Jay

Solo: Ewan

_A/N: Sorry CharmChaser but Linnie had to die as she had decide, she would never be able to trick the careers as she did the others. Maybe if it were a different games she would have been able to win. I hope you can pick a new favourite to root for. _


	20. Day eight of the games

**Adrian Petronius:**

We'd kept up the patrol through the night finding no sign of Ewan or the others,

"Think they might have banded together that other lot?" Phoenix asks, "Only I remember my Aunt mentioning something about the district nine girl wanting me as an ally."

"Me too" adds Gunnar

"Then that's why we can't find them" I say "they've banded together in a hole somewhere"

Ursa grasps her hair and squeals loudly "If I don't kill any one today I'm going to kill one of you annoying shits tomorrow, Intellegis.*"

Aries sighs "as long as it's me I don't care love"

"Guys can we just leave it" I plead "we still have a job to do"

"Yes but how are we supposed to eliminate scum when they're hiding in the gutter somewhere" asks Ursa.

We have no answer for this so just keep trudging through the city.

**Jay Hawthorne:**

Several things were confusing me on the morning of day eight of the 150th Hunger Games, the first and foremost was how I was still alive on day eight of all days. My family are always dead long before this, either bloodbaths or some over excited tribute pretty early in the games.

But here I am. In an alliance no less with people who'll protect me.

Who I'm ready to fight for.

Die for?

No I don't think I'm that keen on them.

The five of us still are camped out in the building, yesterday we watched as Virgil and Linnie died in quick succession.

That left eleven of us, the five of us here and six others.

"That's the career pack isn't it?" Cane asked this morning looking up at the board.

"Yes" Miriam answers "Gunnar and the others" she speaks emotionlessly but her eyes betray her. I've seen enough of the games to know that tributes will fall for each other. It happens over and over again, sometimes its fake, just an attempt to re-enact a stupid mistake of the past.

Either way both of the 'lovebirds' usually end up dead.

"What should we do then?" asks Cane looking towards Ally who is pacing round the edges of the room, she looks over at him silent.

"I... I think" she begins before stopping talking "I'll let you know" she mutters turning around and continuing to pace. Tiffany rolls her eyes at this and Miriam and Cane get back to whatever they were doing before.

I leave it a minute before I walk over to Ally, "You've not got a plan have you"

She shakes her head dislodging the tears from her eyes before wiping them away, "I'm stumped Jay" she admits "You think that all a winning strategy needs is the winning idea, yet I'm stood here with an alliance I've grown to love knowing that it's all coming to a head soon and I don't want to lose any of you! What do I do Jay?"

**Tiffany Royce:**

I look over to see Jay and Ally embrace in a hug, I know the others can see it too.

It's gotten to the point of no return at some point soon the careers will find us or we'll have to head out and find them, either way the time has come, the time to fight.

I'm excited I will finally get a chance to show off what I can do as I'll take down the career pack they'll finally see that they should have had me on their side. If they did they might have found us by now.

I respect Ally for going against the system and building up a strong group but I worry were too strong, if the careers come and we take them all down, then what. The audience will expect for us to turn on each other as that's how it works but I look over as Jay and Ally are talking quietly and Cane stares over at them wanting to join them and know that that's not going to happen.

Then there's Miriam, why we even took her on I don't know, she's given nothing to the group and none of us are that keen on her, there's just nothing there.

We're a strange little lot, stong in our own way and massively weak in others and any day now most if not all of us will be dead, I don't want to be on the wrong side of that when it happens.

**Gunnar Reef:**

I want to go home, that's all I want to see my uncle and my mom again to know I've finally earned her respect and to be able to tell him that I'll never fight again, I can live out the rest of my life in peace, nothing to prove and nothing to want for.

All I have to do is outlive this bunch of idiots, the ones who want just as badly as me to return to their districts and the ones who want me dead. Luckily right now they want another dead even more and as the sun sets we have a break through.

"That way" calls Adrian pointing off in the direction of a small park, one I haven't noticed before and a rare sight of green in this place "That's where he'll be"

**Still alive:**

Careers: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Gunnar

Ally's alliance: Ally, Cane, Tiffany, Miriam, Jay

Solo: Ewan

*Intellegis means 'do you understand' in latin, I've used it here in the way you might say 'comprede'.


	21. Day nine of the games - Part 1

**Adrian Petronius:**

Of course he'll be in the greenest place he can find, I think as we jog towards the park, it's about to become night now and he'll be relaxing; hopefully it should be an easy kill.

"Wait" calls Aries "I don't want to rush into this, if he is there I want to know where he is and what his condition is before we charge in"

"But we outnumber him five to one" Ursa sulks "I know he could probably beat your pathetic behind but all of us" she laughs "I don't think so"

"You go ahead then" Aries tells her "see if you can scout the area out before we attack"

"If I see the little shit I'm killing him whether you're there to cheer me on or not" she announces stomping off her sharp flail hanging from her belt.

"You know my sister isn't going to join us again once he's dead" I tell Aries

"You don't know that, we will need to keep together to defeat the others. If they are together I'm looking forward to it, a showdown" his eyes light up, "Now all we have to do is wait for a scream, Ewan or Ursa I don't care"

"Interesting plan" I reply, sitting down on the hard ground "let my sister do all the work"

"What you accusing me of" Aries snaps back, not the reaction I was expecting

"Nothing!" I reply, no wonder him and my sister were at each other so much, there actually pretty similar people, I make a mental note not to tell either of them that, I'd like to keep my head a little bit longer at least.

**Ewan Hawthrone:**

I've found it, the place I've been looking for all this time. Grandfathers told me of this place and the moment the plate lifted I've been searching for it, even when with the careers. It's the real cornucopia in this arena, not filled with weapons or food but filled with knowledge.

Unfortunately it's occupied.

I take it slowly as I move around away from the direct view of the large windows; finding a nearby building with a low window i sit myself in a corner of the building. From here I can see them but I'm pretty confident they can't see me.

"ouch" I grunt as I rub my ankle I keep forgetting I hurt it so early in the games, it's not been too bad since the first day it happened but I'm pretty sure that the adrenalin is just blotting out the pain. That and the fear of what the careers would do to me if they thought I was weak.

To focus myself away from my ankle I make a count of the people in the building, five in total, five of them five careers and me stuck in the middle. If I'm going to survive this thing I realise that I have a lot more competition than I originally thought. It wasn't much of a talking point in the career camp of whether the others would have allied up but I think we were all pretty sure they'd be working separately. That's how it works!

The building itself is what I had expected it to be too, its where they can watch and see the state of the other tributes, though I assume not the location as they hadn't come after me once I arrived, yes I'm pretty sure they don't know I'm here. I wasn't sure how such a large alliance was still surviving and not at breaking point like the careers had been since day one.

It almost looked fun in there, they were talking and smiling, you don't smile during the games.

My mind is so messed up I can't focus I feel tired and hungry and I just want to go home. Home to Grandfather and district seven and my friends. I don't want the glory anymore I just want to feel safe again.

I close my eyes to blot out the thought and feel myself drifting off to sleep.

**Aries Dartrush:**

It's all quiet as we wait for Ursa to return or the cannon to fire, we're all looking at each other waiting for someone to snap, someone to decide the alliance is over. Well it sure as hell isn't going to be me.

Adrian is muttering under his breath, all part of the constant brain activity that seemed to be going on over there. I contemplate for a second that it might be hard to kill him. In the end. But no I have a job to do here, that's why they call us careers. It's a strange name really but it works, this is what we do. When we come out of it we get paid. Simple as can be.

"I don't like this" Gunnar comments eventually "she's been too long"

I have to agree, it's been nearly an hour since she wandered off and here we were sitting around like idiots waiting for her to return.

"I say we move on without her" Adrian says

As much as I want to agree, I think of our sponsors in the capitol, would they want us to go off alone or go looking for her, do they even care or do they have a soft spot for one of the others.

If I don't get out of here I'll never know.

"We go on without her" I order, heading off in a random direction, as expected the others follow.

We travel for a short while just turning corners and walking around the maze of an arena, I walk with purpose acting the whole time, I'm hopelessly lost and I have a feeling the others are too, never mind the other tributes I'm not quite sure I'll be able to find the training centre again.

I'm not telling the others that though and there not asking questions. You can cut the tension with a knife.

"Aries" calls Gunnar I notice he's fallen behind, "I'm going to go check this block for supplies, I don't think we've been here before"

"Good Idea" I call back and watch as the others head into the building leaving me alone for the first time since the games began.

I look up to the sky and breathe slowly, not wanting to show weakness or emotion I cover up my few tears with a pretend cough, I gulp from my water and splash a little on my face to hide my emotions.

That's when I hear it.

"Bleep Bloop Bleep" I almost scream with excitement as I spot the silver parachute descend from the sky, it floats slowly down below the buildings and into the street where I stand.

It lands by my feet.

"Thankyou Father and Thankyou to my sponsors" I rattle off in the proper way before opening it a quietly as possible.

Out of the silver capsule slides a small round device, no larger than a walnut, its smoth and silver apart from a round eyepiece like a camera a button next to which my father has attached a note,

'push me'

I push the button, the front of the device lights up and projects an image, no not just any image. A Map!

A map of arena and not just any map!

I can see me on it, and Gunnar and Adrian and ... and Ursa, she's stalking around the area where we left her and then I see them

The others.

The other alliance.

Let the games begin!

**Still Alive:**

Careers: Aries, Pheonix, Ursa, Adrian, Gunnar

Ally's alliance: Ally, Cane, Tiffany, Miriam, Jay

Solo: Ewan


	22. Day nine of the games - Part 2

**Gunnar Reef:**

"Guys!" the cry comes from outside the building Its Aries, he sounds excited not as expected like he's being attacked by a very pissed of Ursa.

I finish filling up my water bottle from a tap I'd found and head outside where Adrian has already joined Aries and the two of them are hunched on the floor looking at something.

"What ya looking at?" asks Phoenix coming up behind me

"Same question" I add

"It's a map!" declares Adrian who's beaming with excitement "and it's telling us exactly where my sister is as well as the others"

"So Ewan's joined up with the others" I ask

"No he's in another building look" Adrian says pointing to the hologram on the floor, "he's also not moving so I'd say he's either weak or asleep, either way he's vulnerable"

"And Ursa?" asks Phoenix

"She's a few blocks over from where we left her, heading" Adrian studies the map for a moment "yea she's heading straight for us"

"She won't be happy when she catches up" I say

"Then we won't let her" Aries sighs "I should have killed her day one, that girl was not career material"

"What do you mean?!" exclaims Adrian, who knew he was so attached to the sister who wanted him dead.

"Oh come on bro, yeah she's got some skills but she's not got the mind we do, no patience no game skills" Aries replies

Adrian doesn't reply, unlike his sister he has the knowledge of when to shut up.

"So what do we do with our new found knowledge?" I ask "go for Ursa?"

Aries stares at the map in silence for a moment, thinking "We go after the others, it'll take more people to take down a group that size, no matter how unskilled they may be."

We make sure to cover our tracks and following Aries who kept the map close to hand headed off to find the others.

**Cane Wilkes:**

I'm studying the others watching and waiting for one of them to snap or something when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I jump and throw myself around raising my fist to my attacker.

"Cane!" cries Ally shielding her face "what are you doing"

The room is silent and everyone is staring at me, Jay has reached over for his bow, I slowly lower my arm.

"sorry you shocked me that's all, it's getting to me all this waiting"

"Its okay" says Ally smiling at me "I think it's getting to all of us"

"So what do we do about it Ally?" asks Jay standing up bow still in his hand "We can't just sit here till we run out of food or the careers find us"

"We should scout out the area again, make sure we know all the ways in and out." Ally says "Jay and Tiffany you go check out towards the east" she looks at me "We'll check out the west"

"And me?" Asks Miriam,

"Keep on guard" Ally orders her and sets out towards the door.

I grab my bat and her sword before running after her "You might need this" I say passing her the sword "who knows what's changed out here while we've been in there"

"True" she says taking it from me, we walk away from the building for a moment "Sorry I startled you earlier" she says

"Sorry I over reacted"

"This is strange" she chuckles with that all knowing smile on her face, like she's in on a joke us mere mortals would never get.

"What?"

"That we're apologising to each other, in the Hunger Games" she sighs slightly "this isn't what I expected"

"I don't think anyone can truly know until they have been here you know?"

"Yup" she looks towards us at a small building with an open door "was that door always open?" she asks.

"I don't remember" I reply honestly "But I don't see why it would be left open by the arena builders, every other door we've found has been closed"

"Exactly" she says heading towards it

"It could be a trap" I call running after her she doesn't appear to pay me any attention and heads into the building. I smile, I think I'm beginning to fall for the headstrong leader of our little gang, I hope in the end that it isn't me who has to kill her.

"Well look what we have here then" she says with glee

"Bitch" comes the reply and I hear the clash of metal on metal, I run into the building and see her struggling against a boy lying on the floor.

She pushes her sword down against the axe he holds in his hand "A little help Cane!" she yells as the boy manages to stand up, putting his weight and strength against hers.

A moment later I swing my club for his head and he weakens for a moment long enough to let Ally get the upper hand she swings her sword at his body wedging it into his chest. He growls in pain some un-real noise as she tries to pull the sword out. I find myself swinging the club at his head again trying desperately to stop his screams of pain, he finally loses consciousness and Ally managed to remove her sword.

"Well that was interesting" she says moving away from the body, he must still be alive, barely, as his cannon has remained silent.

I just blink at her, still in shock from what had just happened "Come one Cane, turn that frown..." she stops mid sentence her eyes bulge out for a moment, I hadn't noticed the boy had moved, hadn't noticed him reach for his axe and throw it perfectly into the back of Ally's head.

She staggers forward, blood running from her mouth "Fuck" she splutters before collapsing face first on the floor.

"BOOM!" the cannon shakes through the arena and through my heart "Ally No!" I cry "anyone but you oh Panem!"

The boy in the corner is still alive, he's unconscious with a little smile on his face, he thinks I'll forget him and he'll come through this, not happening, I raise my club and bring it down on his skull once, twice, five times eventually his skull cracks and the cannon sounds as his pain ends. I smack him a few more times for good measure both knee caps his nose is a mashed mess, his body is destroyed.

I leave the building that stinks of blood and shit and make a simple decision, I need to get home, I need to see my cousins and my parents and District eleven again and no one is standing in my way.

"Hey dead boy" comes a call from around the corner of the building I'd just exited I hold up my club still soaked in blood in a defensive position and turn around to face my tormentor.

I see the sight I've been dreading facing since day one of the games, across the yard from me is stood a group of young men and women, they look angry, they look desperate. They are the career pack and I've just killed one of their own.

**Ursa Petronus:**

Boom! There's something big happening now, that I need to be a part of. I was abandoned there's no other word for it, they abandoned me and will die because of that. All of them, even my dear brother, he was a fool for volunteering for the games and I will show him the error of his ways.

Boom! A blood bath maybe, I can feel it two are dead already. Neither of them by my hand.

I turn all my senses on and can feel the way to run, the scent of blood draws me the sound of screams I run and I run dropping my supplies as I go. I only need my weapon now.

I find myself stood in a courtyard where my previous allies stand facing off with a dark skinned boy with blood dripping from his club that he holds, as they stare at each other a girl emerges from a large glass fronted building and screams before running back inside and another boy and girl come around the building weapons in hand.

Oh! one of them is bow boy; I've wanted to get him from day one. I'll sort him out then Aries is mine, that little boy will not get away with abandoning me back there like that.

"Let's Get This Party Started!" I scream as I run towards him swinging my weapon in the air, I can tell from the screams around me that the bloodbath has begun.

The Fallen ... Ewan Hawthorne ... D7 ... Allyson Mala ... D9

**Still alive:**

Careers: Ursa, Adrian, Gunnar, Aries, Phoenix,

Other Alliance: Jay, Miriam, Cane, Tiffany


	23. Day nine of the games - Part 3

**Day nine part 3**

**Miriam Blackthorn:**

I don't know what to do, to go outside would mean certain death, to stay inside probably would also lead to my death. I decide that staying inside would probably delay my death a little longer and head up a floor away from the path of any flying weapons. Keeping low I move over to the corner of the room and look out of a window onto the battlefield bellow.

I can spot my allies as they fight for their lives, Jay has come up against the girl from district two, he struggles to avoid her as she swings at him with her weapon that's unlike anything I've seen before.

Beside them Cane is fighting two other careers a girl and a boy, the pair from one I think, he's holding his own with his blunt weapon but he won't be able to keep it up for long.

I can also see Tiffany fighting Gunnar and find myself willing him to win, we had a connection back in the training centre I knew it, I also knew that he possibly felt it stronger than me and I can use that to my advantage, He'd fighting Tiffany's long shiny sword with a short trident, jabbing at the heart as he moves quickly to avoid.

Looking back to Jay I can see he's almost beaten I reach my hand out towards him touching the glass as the weapon smashes down on his rib cage one time to many he collapses and a moment later his cannon echoes around the arena.

BOOM!

Another boy walks up to the girl from two as she continues to attack Jay even though she must know it's over. I'd say from a guess that this other boy is her brother but when the two begin to fight I'm no longer sure, the boy fighting Cane stops and stares in worry as the two careers begin to fight weapon against weapon. He must be her brother; the boy she's fighting must be the boy from one.

As the boy fighting Cane is distracted Cane swings his club at the girl knocking her to the floor, he pulls the sword from her hand and plunges it through her chest.

BOOM!

The boy from one fights the girl from two well they even cause Tiffany and Gunnar to stop their battle and watch, it's a strange silence up here looking down on the battle I can't hear their cries or the sound of metal hitting metal, metal hitting flesh. It's a strange and terrifying silence.

It's so wrong but I can't stop staring can't stop hoping that all the little people down there will kill each other off and leave me be.

As I watch the fight I realise I too am being watched Gunnar at some point had looked away from the fight and straight up at me, he smiles slightly and winks.

I hold a finger up to my lips and he smiles with a nod before turning back to the fight. Not what I had expected to happen, why doesn't he come for me, why doesn't he fly up the stairs to kill me once and for all? Has he forgotten why we're here? Obviously not as he's chanting for one of the fighting tributes bellow to win.

I look away from Gunnar and back to the fight, discovering that the girl has got the upper hand and the boy's leg is bleeding badly he keeps up the fight though, keeping his balance on his good leg and rotating to swing at the girl, she leaps quickly out of the way and lunges towards the boy. He jumps back and lunges towards her.

The two of them continue on and on and on, lunging and jumping and hacking and slashing.

The boy hits the girls arm in which she holds her weapon with a strong swing and slices a deep gash into it, she easily throws it to her other hand though and continues on just as strong.

I feel as though I'm going to be watching the two of them fight for an eternity.

The girl continues to move fast while I slowly notice that the boy is moving slower, he gets nipped with her weapon a couple more time on the arms and leg. It's then that he makes his fateful mistake it happens so quickly that if I hadn't been staring so intently I'd have missed it.

One wrong step and the boy falls onto his ankle collapsing on the floor. He never gets the chance to stand up again as the girl make one final lunge controlling her strange weapon with perfect skill and swinging it down into the boys skull as he lies on the floor.

Blood spurts up from his head spraying the girl she revels in it swinging and plunging down into the boy.

She rips his sword from his hand and uses it to deliver the final blow, striking deep into his chest and piercing his heart.

BOOM!

"Who's next" she calls waving her blooded weapons in the sky "which of you pussies want to die next" she must be screaming her lungs out for me to hear.

I scan the crowd around her no one steps forward Tiffany takes a step back, looking ready to run.

"You" Laughs Ursa pointing at her "Your next"

Cane, Gunnar and Adrian flee in opposite directions as Ursa lunges for Tiffany the dead boys sword raised above her head; Tiffany is to slow to react and suffers a heavy blow to the shoulder. I continue to watch mesmerised at the two young women fight, skill against skill, grace and speed against shear power and need. It's a mesmerising dance.

"Miriam" my heart stops as I hear Gunnar's voice

"You here to kill me off?" I ask as I still look out of the window focusing on the setting sun rather than the fight bellow. I'd much rather it was my final image.

"No" he replies "I want to save your life Miriam, I don't know why but I do. Will you come with me?"

"What" I say turning away from the window and looking up into his face, he looks earnest worried even.

"I want to keep you safe" he repeats

"You're lying" I comment reaching for the knife strapped to my leg

"No" he cries "I'm not" he lowers his body carefully placing his trident on the ground "See?"

* * *

Gunnar Reef:

She still doesn't trust me and of course I know why the field is getting smaller, why would I choose now to strike up an alliance, it's stupid.

"I don't trust you, you abandoned me" she accuses, she's removed her knife from her leg and waves it towards me as she speaks.

"How did I abandon you?" I retort "You never joined us, we waited for you, you didn't show up so we left"

"I tried my best" she cries "I ran for days without rest to find you and when I did you'd gone, then the others arrived and I had no choice but to join them"

"But you didn't want to?" I'm confused

"Of course not, I wanted to be with you. But it's irrelevant now"

"Good, then come with me now" I hold out my weapon free hands towards her "lets win this thing together"

"You're insane" she yells at me continuing to wave her knife "we can't both win it's too late now"

"I don't want it to be" I yell back "I don't want it to be too late for either of us." I pause not thinking only feeling "I .. I love you Miriam"

"You barely know me."

"SO!" I yell

"Your just scared" she cries back in reply, her eyes beginning to tear up "We're all scared, just scared little kids fighting to the death. She bends down and slowly grabs my trident "We're all just going to die anyway. We won't survive this and if we do then what, will your mom love you will my grandfather forgive me?"

"Does it even matter?" I ask as I look down at the trident in her hand tears forming at my eyes, I know the reason I came up here and so now does she.

"It was selfish of you to expect me to do this" she says continuing to weep "To end it for you, you're a wuss, you should be the one fighting Ursa down there"

"Will you though?"

"Yes" she holds the trident at her shoulder and aims it at my chest.

"Goodbye Miriam" I say scrunching my eyes shut

"Goodbye Gunnar" The pain is deep but quick, I slip into darkness, I'm sorry Uncle.

BOOM!

* * *

The Fallen ... Aries Dartrush ... D1 ... Phoenix Starr ... D1... Gunnar Reef ... D4 ... Jay Hawthorne ... D12

**Still alive:**

Solo: Ursa, Adrian, Cane, Tiffany, Miriam


	24. Day ten of the games - Part 1

Nina Ricci:

Today is the day I think with a grin as I fling my curtains open and look out onto my garden, the sun is shining and I'm off to the studio later today for the final families' interviews, we're doing it a bit more personally this year of course and interviewing each of the mentors on stage in front of a live audience, I can't wait.

And what a set of tributes we have left I think as I look to my large television screen in the corner of my main room to see the screen split in four showing a feed of each of the remaining tributes, sleeping or pacing around the building they had chosen to hide in the night before.

The last death of the bloodbath came late the night before Tiffany Royce was defeated by Ursa Petronius well into the night after the two had fought long and hard. But Ursa was the superior tribute. She always has been all through the games, I only wish she were more likeable it would make it easier to interview her after her victory.

Right now she's still in the square by the betting parlour where she made that spectacular kill, the real parlour is probably packed at the moment with people getting in that final wager or collecting from any bets made on yesterdays fight. Technically as I don't work for the games themselves I'm allowed to bet on anything I want, not that I really want to. I get paid enough as it is, why would I want to waste my wage on something I can't control.

The other tributes are also keeping near to the square, Miriam waits upstairs in the betting parlour hiding beneath someone's desk on the fourth floor. Meters away from where she dramatically killed Gunner under his own instruction. Victory just isn't right for some tributes and that he understood that was good for him, no point in deluding himself anymore.

Adrian is also still near the square a couple of blocks over near a cute ice cream bar I used to go to as a kid. He's perched on a stoop of an apartment block with his knees pulled to his chest and his face buried in his knees. He's been muttering all night but no one can hear what he's saying much to my disappointment.

Cane is the final remaining tribute, he's also the furthest away from the betting parlour square having run back to the training centre the night before, he spent the night in the weapons stash and has recently got up to try and find the food stores again, I hope he doesn't put too much faith in them the last time I saw them on screen there was nothing much edible looking left.

I chose to start my day off with a healthy bowl of fruit so I grab a pre-packed one from the fridge and pick at it as I wander around my wardrobe, today's outfit needs to be perfect and timeless as they'll be repeating the interviews till the next games and I don't want to be seen in last season's fashion on next seasons television schedules. Something timeless is needed something inspired by the games, the arena, the capitol.

White is good I decide, something structured with a splash of colour for a pop. I find a long white peplum skirt and light blue blouse with plenty of ruffles I finish my outfit off with a large white and blue leopard print scarf and a white fitted blazer. I look striking think as I do my makeup a striking bright blue, there's only one thing missing I think as I look at my nails that are still a hot pink from yesterday. I think I'll go get them done, after all I don't need to be in work till one before the interviews go out at three pm.

I slip on some white gloves and grab my small blue bag from the bedroom leaving my half eaten fruit on my dresser, it'll be gone by the time I get home tidied up by the apartments Axoxes. One day I think I'll be wealthy enough to afford my own, some muscular tanned man who once dreamt of rebellion but now only dreams of pleasuring me. I smile as I enjoy my little fantasy as I make my way down stairs but am soon brought back to reality as I have to navigate my way along the busy street bellow, everyone is out this morning doing there chores before the big show this afternoon.

I reach my nail salon pretty quickly, 'Afrika's Nails' is a small shop but pretty well known, its owner a tall dark lady with golden tattoos that swirl animatedly around her body is also called Afrika (though I've known her since kindergarten and back then she was called Nox).

I embrace my old friend in a hug and she leads me over to a chair she sits opposite me and quickly gets to cleaning off the old pink varnish "You excited for this afternoon?" she asks.

Afrika admitted to me once over a good supply of flavoured vodka that she opened the salon because she just likes to talk to a captive audience, I remember that I'd laughed and told her that I was the same.

"Of course I'm excited, I've got three victors to interview, well two good looking once's at least" I squeal and Afrika joins in, she leans towards me

"That Thorn boy really is growing up nicely" she chuckles

"And Nero" we both sigh simultaneously before falling into shrieks of laughter.

"His kids are a strange pair though aren't they" Afrika comments as she reaches over to her large collection of nail polishes where she hovers her hand around the blues for a moment before settling on just the shade I would have picked, a shade of blue that matched my scarf perfectly. She then grabs a white and another lighter shade of blue that tones with my shirt.

"They certainly are" I reply in response to her comment about Ursa and Adrian, "I can't see it being a fun experience interviewing Ursa after the games, she seems kinds scary to me"

"You think she's going to win it then?" she asks as she begins to paint, her nimble fingers moving quickly to create a pattern on my nails.

"Course who else is there?" I chuckle

"Miriam?"

I laugh "you have to be kidding me she's useless, I don't know how she's lasted this long as it is" she always have the strangest picks. Though I do believe she predicted Willow Dash's win and Kasha Blackwood's.

"It's all those skills she picked up with her life of crime." Afrika laughs.

"What?"

She chuckles "She's a little criminal, I hear, how have you not? I hear she robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Her own grandfather even would you believe it?".

"No!" I exclaim "there is now way she has the balls to do that, she's a little wimp. I barely know how she managed to kill Gunnar"

"Gunnar loved her you know" Afrika whispers changing the subject slightly, I make a quick mental note to bring up the earlier accusation with the grandfather later.

"Tributes don't love each other" I retort "you know relationships are against the rules"

"But Jay and Ally were totally in love" she replies "or Ally and Cane if you'd prefer"

"What?! You have to be kidding me Nox" I exclaim

She scowls "I'm not Nicia" she uses my birth name "both those guys loved that girl especially Jay"

I gasp, the pairing up of tributes in this was just isn't done, not since the rebellion no one wanted to encourage another Katniss and Peeta especially with their own relatives. What she was saying was tantamount to treason if spoken in the districts, did she want to end up an Avox!

"Well she's dead now" I say "And you should keep those opinions to yourself"

"I'm not an idiot, Nina" she chuckles "I've been doing this a long time now sweetie"

She moves a light box over my nails sealing the polish in place until I chose to change them again. I look at them and smile "You may be completely nuts Afrika but you know me well", the pattern perfectly matches my scarf just like I would have asked her to do if she wasn't such a mind reader.

"It's what I'm here for hun" she smiles as I stand up and swipe my card across the reader paying her whatever it costs "Don't forget to show them off tonight though"

"Of course I won't" I smile and pull her into a hug "you be careful okay" I whisper.

"I'm no fool" she replies as she releases me "I'll see you on the tv tonight"

Nero Petronus (Adrian and Ursa's Father):

I'm being fussed over by another bloody make up woman as we wait for Nina to appear, she's always bloody late and there always a reason why and it's usually because she's somewhere having someone do something to her body.

The doors fly open and there she is, looking as poised and perfect as usual she rushes over to us.

"So sorry I'm late guys" she flusters "My nail lady would not stop wittering about the tributes, she's a big fan of your Adrian Nero"

"Lovely" I grunt "Shall we do this darn interview then?"

"Of course of course" she smiles, "lets head out into the studio"

She seems distracted as we take out seats and the lighting and sound guys set us up for the interview, as we wait for the audience to come in I try to get a hint of the questions she'll ask out of her but nothing.

The audience come in abuzz with chatter and excitement, I wave out at them and walk over to a few of my old friends from the capitol, I also spot the district eleven kid mingling in the crowd too, he's an alright lad but not really built to survive the capitol I can see his discomfort in his surroundings. The old man from four is obviously nowhere to be seen.

"We're good to go now Nero" some skinny kid shouts over at me, he's wearing a head set and lilac jeans and reminds me off that assistant that I fired soon after they gave him me, so I hate him automatically. I make my way back over to Nina who has remained sat on her chair making frantic last minute changes to her cue cards.

I sit opposite her as the audience settle down and the music starts up, always the professional Nina slaps on her best grin and bounces up to the cameras.

"Hello out there Panem, are we ready for some interviews" the audience scream and clap and make all sorts of noise as Nina bounces back over to her chair, "Now let's not drag this out any longer, I know you're as excited as I am to talk to the wonderful Nero Petronus!"

I stand and take a bow before sitting down quickly again.

"Nero how proud are you of both your kids getting this far in the games"

"Of course, I knew they both would though, I raised them well"

"Is it hard for you to know that only one will come out?"

"Not at all, I know the best will win and the best are my children. I'd never put one above the other though"

"Of course of course, but if you could" she grins wickedly as the crowd goad me on to make a choice,

I smile out at the crowd "Ursa" I exclaim and they go wild.

Nina laughs "Ursa is my pick too. Now Nero what do you make of the competition this year, has it been a good quell?"

"Yes of course, some ingenious twists and I must say the arena is just inspired" The crowd love that and clap and cheer out loud.

"Thank you Nero" has that really been all my time "and I can't wait to see you again" I stand up and take a bow before leaving the stage, a little miffed that my time on stage seemed so short.

"Wow isn't he just as dreamy as ever" she screams into the crowd "well now it's time to move on to the second of our mentors Districts fours every own Amadeus Blackthorn"

She seems much more excited for him that she did for me, and I'm Nero Petronus, what does that woman have planned?

Amadeus Blackthorn (Miriam's Grandfather):

I don't want to be here I want to be back home on my porch swigging a cold one with my pall but here I am sitting in this hot uncomfortable studio again being ogled by a crowd of freaks as the ring mistress smiles on.

"So Amadeus how exciting is it to be back in the capitol again?" she grins as the people laugh and cheer her on, it's a show and I am the captive here for their entertainment maybe even more so than my so called granddaughter out there fighting for her life.

"I'm faring well thank you Nina" I still play their game well after all this time, nothing they say or do can shock me now.

"Now Amadeus are you aware of the rumours your granddaughter is a thief"

I struggle to compose myself, and hunt desperately in my mind for a response "The very thought is laughable Nina" I reply "Miriam is precious to me and I to her, why would she do that"

They think I'm stupid, that I'm losing my mind and mostly I don't mind it allows me to be left alone but this is a step too far, my grandchild will probably die in these games I will not let her reputation go with her.

Nina looks shocked at my dismissal of her comment, I'm sure she thought she had a breakthrough piece of news but I've stumped her.

"Tell me of your relationship with Miriam?"

"We're close, she lives in a coastal town of District four with her mother and sister, they visit me often"

I don't know if Nina can tell that I lie, but the lies are awakening my mind, causing my brain to work faster than it has in a long time.

"So there's no way she stole from you, gave your possessions to the people of district four?"

"Why would she do that, the people of four are happy we have no need for handouts, do you doubt the capitols generosity Nina?" the crowd laugh at this and Nina looks startled for a moment, scared she could be in trouble for her comment, stupid girl.

"What of the accusations that Gunnar and Miriam were in a relationship before the games" she blurts causing the audience to gasp.

I laugh "I'd say you'd completely lost it Nina" the audience join in with my chuckles "You know tributes are forbidden to have relationships, my Miriam had never met Gunnar before the reaping day and I for one would like to know where you're getting your intel from. Wouldn't you?" I shout out to the audience and they cheer and shout in agreement, I am their ringmaster now, controlling their every reaction.

Nina coughs and her eyes dart around madly for a moment "Amadeus Blackthorn everyone she calls."

I can still hear the crowd going wild as I walk off stage.

Thorn Wilkes (Cane's Cousin):

I'm pacing up and down the corridor outside Nina's studio something is taking longer than it should with the old man's interview, people are rushing around in a fluster and I feel completely ignored.

I like it of course, a moment to myself I'm thinking of Cane of course and how much I need to get my cousin home to his parents, my aunt and uncle who practically raised me, I owe them that, I owe him that for saving my brother as I saved him.

Finally a man appears wearing a head set "they're ready for you Thorn" he tells me before vanishing off I hear my name being announced by Nina and I run onto the stage and wave at the crowd a grin on my face.

Nina seems flustered and uncomfortable she doesn't want to be talking to me, she and I usually get on so I wonder what could be her problem now, was it something I've done or said?

"So Thorn tell us how you feel Cane is getting on in the games" A rather stilted question.

"Cane is doing brilliantly" I exclaim "he's keeping hidden but you've all seen that he knows how to fight"

"Yes he killed Ewan didn't he?"

"No Allison defeated Ewan, Cane beat Phoenix, it was only yesterday"

"Of course he did" she smiles sweetly before continuing to ask me more inane questions until my time is up and the show is over.

Nina Ricci:

I've messed up I've been stupid, they'll come for me soon and take my tongue away I just know it, I only hope that Afrika is smarter than me.

The Fallen ... Tiffany Royce ... D10


	25. Day ten of the games - Part 2

Later that evening:

President Rosa Snow's POV:

I pull my cashmere blanket over my feet as I settle down to watch the games, I should really be out in public somewhere tonight observing and partying with my people as we prepare for the victor to rise out of the arena. But I can't be bothered, there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now I have a bottle of my favourite wine from district one and a dish of sushi fresh from four as I watch the tributes continue to sit around and not fight.

My two shining stars from district two are close to both each other and the boy from eleven but neither of them realise it, oh what I'd give to see the two of them team up and take him down. I wouldn't be able to stand another district eleven victor.

My distaste for the outer district kids has always been constant, as a young girl I revelled in the victors from glamorous one, strong two and beautiful four. Heck even the smart kids from three or five were more entertaining than these, the ones who tended to spend the games making friends and dying off slowly. But there he was the kid from district eleven still surviving, who knows how?

We've been too lax over in eleven for a while now and they are getting cocky. I make a plan to order more peacekeepers over there, after the games of course they will be subdued for a while but I don't trust those young victors over there they are getting too close to bringing home a third and we could have trouble on our hands.

There is a knock at the door disturbing my train of thought, "Enter" I call.

"Madam President" Ajax says with a bow as he steps into my room, he is my head peacekeeper and a dear friend. When his time in the peace forces comes to an end I plan on promoting him to my senate then who knows where we could end up.

"Ajax what a surprise, my friend, come join me" I gesture to a chair beside my couch

"I'm afraid I can't stay Rosa" he says informally "I'm here on official business"

"A shame" I reply "what's so important it couldn't wait till after the games?"

"One of the tributes, the girl from four has been proved a criminal"

"How so?" I am intrigued that quiet girl seems incapable of anything. Yes there were the rumours on the interviews earlier this evening but I just put that down to Nina being her usual sensualist self.

"She's a thief Ma'am been found guilty of stealing from her Grandfather's house, it's been happening for a while now but they've just pinned it on her. Apparently one of her friends who took the stolen goods from her confessed all." So the rumours were true, the grandfather did a good job hiding it.

"Has the friend been punished accordingly?" I ask

"Yes, fifteen lashes of the whip"

"Excellent, Look into why the grandfather lied yesterday too" I ponder my options with the girl for a moment "I'll fetch Syrio to deal with the girl in the games, we'll make a show of it"

"I'll send for him myself Rosa" Ajax smiles "and may I say you look stunning today"

"You may" I smile "Come to me after your shift ends, I have a surprise for you" I add in a seductive whisper

"Of course" he kisses my hand and vanishes out into the corridor; I lick my lips and smile in anticipation of tonight. But first I have a criminal to punish.

Ten minutes later my head Gamemaker appears looking as exhausted as usual, as well as a little flushed proving he must have run the whole way here.

"You asked to see me Madam" he stutters, he's such a nervous wreck it's almost funny if it wasn't so irritating.

"You let a criminal compete in the games" I screech "Tell me the meaning of this" I wave my hand towards the screen.

"A criminal madam?"

"The girl from four has been found guilty of theft from her grandfather"

"Her mentor? But they were only rumours, started by Nina this evening no less"

"Yes they were true, her friends in four have confessed to receiving the stolen goods" I exclaim "I want her dealt with; I can't have someone who flaunts the law being allowed to win the games. The penalty for theft in four is execution and I want it carried out tonight"

"Yes madam, right away madam" Syrio bows deeply and leaves my room.

I turn back to my television screen to watch the action, after a couple of slow scenes of Cane munching on some dried fruit and Ursa sharpening the sword she took from Tiffany's corpse earlier the camera finally cuts to Miriam who is still hiding out on the upper floors of the betting parlour.

Right now she's dozing by a doorway a knife held tightly in her hand, she has no idea of the trouble she's causing back here. She is even less aware of the punishment that now awaits her; I on the other hand can barely contain my excitement.

"Attention tributes" the clear loud voice of our announcer Marius Bloom sounds through the arena, there are a couple of quick shots showing the other tributes looking alert before the camera stays on a sleeping Miriam "Miriam Blackthorn from District four" the girl bolts up her eyes open wide in fear, I smile as the voice continues "You have been accused, tried in absentium and been found guilty of at least twenty counts of theft in Victors Village" Miriam screams and jumps to her feet rushing to the door and down through the building, _there's no escaping your fate my dear_ I think "Therefore as the law of Panem states you are to be sentenced to death. No odds will favour you now"

Miriam is outside the building now, as she runs from her inevitable fate the ground opens up around her and snakes rise into the arena, first I can count them, ten, twenty, fifty, hundreds. "Oh Syrio" I laugh "just when I'm about to write you off"

The girl continues to run and I must admit she is pretty fast, but not fast enough the snakes bare their large fangs and bite at her ankles she tries to continue to run as they snip and bite at her. Her feet are bleeding now leaving a trail of blood as she swerves through the arena down alleys and along the streets. But she runs with no sense of direction she doesn't even realise she's entered a dead end until it's too late. A large white wall stretches above her. She tries to jump and grab it, tries to climb away from her fate, but the snakes have caught up they bite at her feet and ankles at first before moving up to her legs, she collapses with a scream.

"Please forgive me" she cries as the snakes continue to bite and crush the little criminal "please, please, please" she breaks down into sobs mixed with screams of pain "Let it end" she wails as the snakes reach her neck. Moments later it does end, a snake bites her neck and she goes limp.

BOOM!

"Send Syrio a bottle of his favourite liquor for that fine show" I order loudly "oh and bring me a glass of mine"

Nina Ricci:

I wake up on my own bed in my own clothes and slide a finger into my mouth. I still have my tongue they didn't come for me in the night. I'm not going to be turned into an Avox slave!

I'm not alone I realise and look up to see the president stood over me "Ma'am" I say my voice shaking.

"You are popular Nina" she says "and you are liked. Luckily for you the rumours were true and Miriam has been punished accordingly saving you my dear from punishment. The consenquences could have been grave for spreading rumours that could have harmed a potential victor. Be careful to mind your tongue in the future my dear or we may have to mind it for you"

"Of course Madam President"

The Fallen ... D4 ... Miriam Blackthorn

Final Three: Adrian Ursa Cane

**A/N: Oh gosh those last two chapters have been a mission to write, I hope you enjoy them while I get to work on the end of the story.**


	26. Day eleven of the games

_A/N: A couple of things before we finish this thing off, first thanks for all the support, reviews and follows of this story, those emails make my day every time I see one! Secondly I'm planning on doing another Hunger Games fic starting in the next week or two so keep your eyes out for that and get thinking on which tribute you think could win the games!_

**Ursa Petronus:**

"Come out come out wherever you are" I cry into the empty building, its corny I know but the capitol love corny, they lap it up and the more they love it the more likely they are to give father money so he can send me something for my arm, its bleeding badly and I'm worried it'll become infected soon.

"I know you're around brother" I cry manically "and I'm going to kill you. Father will be sooo proud"

There is a deep laughter from behind me, a deep guttural laugh almost manic, unhinged, _father_?

"You don't understand Ursa, Father will never be proud of me" Adrian steps before me, it's only been a few days since I last saw him but his hair has become wild, his face hard and his persona, well it's more like mine.

"You finally ready to play brother" I ask pulling my flail from my belt, no need to there's no need to get this over with quickly. A show is what they need and a show I'll give them. He grips onto his mace tightly.

He steps forward and I poise myself I am ready to pounce ready to strike ready to win.

"Do you love our mother?" he says and I am startled, taken aback by his comment

"What" I yell in response, he's trying to trick me I know, but he's not the only one with brains in our family. I won't fall for his attempt to mess with my mind.

"Do you love her, come on Ursa the whole country is watching tell them the truth. Tell her the truth."

I don't answer I just scowl what do I have to show him show any of them. I'm going to win the games surely me coming home will prove anything I ever needed to prove.

"You know what I think is the truth Ursa" he gives me that look, like the one he's been giving me all my life behind my back, when he thinks I'm not looking, that pitying look.

"No one cares Adrian" I hiss in reply, I don't want to play his game of words I want to play my game, the one I'm ready for.

"I think the truth is you don't love mom, you don't love father even. You can't love can you Ursey"

"Don't call me that scum" I should charge at him now, use one of the knives I've collected over the length of these games stab it through his neck, but I don't, I choose instead to stay rooted to the spot, wait my moment.

"But you don't do you, I've been thinking about it for a while sis. There's nothing inside your heart is there? Nothing inside that heart of yours for anyone, not even yourself." he steps towards me and I do the same, a game of chicken it is then. "At first I didn't think I could kill you, I'd decided that out of the two of us it'll be you coming home because you could do it, you could kill me, you wouldn't even hesitate and that's when I knew I had to win. You can't win Ursa because how could the capitol accept a girl who would kill her own brother in cold blood?"

"Does it matter I yell thrashing my flail on the floor dislodging the loose gravel bellow us "does it matter what they'll think of me when you're the one whose about to die"

"I suppose not" he ponders "But what if you die sis, what will your final words be your final thought. Have you ever thought about it?"

"No because I'm not going to die freak, you are" I swing my flail around my head as I charge for my brother his eyes widen up in fear, maybe he thought he'd talk me to death.

"I'm so sorry Mother" he screams before swinging his weapon up to meet mine, the two meet in mid air my flail wraps around the chain of his mace and becomes tangled in a mess of leather and metal, he pulls against it and so do I forcing the two weapons to part ways.

He swings at me next and I meet him mid swing with another almighty clash of metal and leather, this time the two don't part no matter how hard we pull and after a moment there is no choice but to discard them on the floor.

I don't take this as a cue to stop though and find myself diving towards my brother weapon-less with only for my fists he does the same and I feel a blow to my nose coming straight and strong I counter it with one to his eye. I try to reach the knife securely strapped to my belt but Adrian stops be by gripping tightly to my arm, I am shocked by the strength he still has after all these days of fighting, till I realise that I've been doing the fighting, not him, he's just been coasting along.

He pulls me down to the floor keeping tight hold of my arm and pins me down "So Ursa, you decided on those last words yet" he chuckles.

"Eat shit" I reply and push up at him with all the force in my body, he may be larger than me but my strength comes though and I manage to push him onto the hard ground and throw myself on top pinning him to the floor in the same way he did me. We've been in this position plenty of times during training, he'd usually just declare me the winner and take a bit of a beating before getting up and leaving, but not today.

He retaliates by biting into my arm I don't let the pain show on my face though and wriggle my other arm towards his face before jamming the inside of my wrist into his nose, this one movement breaks his nose and disrupts his breathing for long enough to force him to release my arm from his teeth. I use my new free arm to punch him a few more times causing my blood to spray over his face, falling into his eyes and mouth.

He then decides to spit some back at me, which I do not take kindly too, I use my bloody arm to reach down to my knife and bring it up to his face.

"You ready for this brother" I taunt

"Are you sister?" he replies I bring my knife high into the sky making sure everyone can see it and begin to bring it down aiming for his neck.

I halt mid air and feel a sharp pain rush through my body, originating from my heart.

"What" I whisper as my knife falls from my hand nipping Adrian's cheek as it does so "was that?"

"Your heart" Adrian replies using all his strength to talk "it wasn't stone after all" his eyes close slowly.

I force myself onto my feet and look down at my chest, the moment I see the wound the pain increases ten-fold, "You stabbed me" I stutter, looking down at his hand which still holds the blooded knife he jammed into me and slid out as I was poised to do the same.

I tear off a large section of my shirt and jam it into the wound looking down at my big brother as I do so. I know he's not dead but he's certainly out of it for a moment, this is my moment.

Or it would be, could I really do it, kill my own sibling. I sway as I look down at him, my arm is still bleeding as well as my stomach, I need serious medical help which I know I'll never get if I'm not the last one standing, it's a kill or be die situation.

It's The Hunger Games.

I kneel down and take Adrian's knife from his hand I wipe my own blood from it onto my trousers. I'm losing consciousness I can feel it and I need to end this, end him.

"I'm sorry Adrian" I whisper tears flowing down my face and mingling with his blood and spit. I know which point to hit to make it over quickly and jamming my eyes close I do so.

BOOM!

I smile and collapse next to him, listening out for the announcement telling me I've won, waiting for the med team to whisk me away to save my life and back to Father.

But there's nothing.

*Ten Hours Later*

**Cane Wilkes:**

I don't know what to do; this arena is so large, so daunting that I'll never find my final opponent and he or she will probably never find me. Maybe this final battle will never happen; maybe one of us will just starve to death first.

In that case I think I actually have a chance at this, I actually may make it through the games. There was a few bags of trail mix and dried meat at the training centre which I've filled a large rucksack with that I'm carrying around the arena, _keep moving_ I think make myself hard to find.

Oh and there's the ghost of that dead girl that won't leave me alone, proving once and for all that I must have completely lost it.

_I don't think you'll win_ she taunts, she's in my head now.

"I think I'll win" I retort out loud "I think I'll win the Hunger Games"

_No you won't killing me was a fluke anyway Thorn hates you now_

"No he doesn't, you're wrong"

_Your mom hates you, and your dad, you should just die_

"And you're not real, you're just in my head"

_I'm as real as you make me Cane_

"Shut up Shut up Shut up!" I scream gripping my skull in my hands and collapsing on the floor "Leave me Alone"

_I'm here forever Cane, for the rest of your life_

BOOM!

The cannon literally shakes the ground and I blink slowly, it can't mean, no, I've counted wrong.

"Ladies and Gentleman the winner of the one hundred and fiftieth Hunger Games and your Quarter Quell champion Cane Wilkes"

I try to force a smile try to look pleased or exhausted or anything, but nothing comes no emotion nothing.

Ally, Jay, Tiffany, Miriam, Ally all of them gone, all of them dead.

Just me.

Me and the voices in my head.

_I'll never leave you alone Cane, Never._

**Epilogue:**

The Capitol had welcomed Cane back with cheers and love, they dressed him up fed him all the food he'd need and paraded him on TV and around the Districts. But no matter what they did or said or begged or threatened.

The loud brash boy never spoke a word again.


End file.
